We Are Family
by seriouslyjess
Summary: A conference in Chicago. It can't be that bad... right? Family, hidden pasts, tragedy and famous people are all hidden behind the mask that is Allison Cameron. But what happens when House meets her family and learns the truth?
1. Chapter 1

**We Are Family**

As those of you who are reading this for the first time, or the 10th time might notice, this story is undergoing some construction. I know that 'Take Two' is a rewrite of this but I'm methodically going through this one and deleting various personal things I no longer want on this site and doing some light editing. Very little is changing except some grammar/spelling and condensing of chapters for an easier read. If you come in during the editing process though, I apologize! Some chapters may seem to duplicate themselves until I get all of the editing done. 08.05.13 ~Jess

I don't own House.

* * *

**Chapter 1  
**

Allison Cameron stared at her boss in disbelief. She knew that Foreman and Chase were next to her doing the same thing.

"A week?" House asked. "But Mommy, I don't want to go. I want to stay here and play with Daddy Jimmy. I promise I'll be good."

"All of you are going. And you will go to see the speakers, and you will mingle." Cuddy's voice was dangerously low. "If you don't go House, you get an extra month of clinic duty. For every hour you make one of your Fellows do, you'll get two extra hours."

"That's not fair."

"Yes House, it is. You're going and that's final."

* * *

Cameron stepped off the plane behind House and sighed.

She was starving, tired and crabby. She was in Chicago. It was the place that she had grown up, the place that had been her prison, and her home all rolled into one. But because it had been her home it was full of secret places and good restaurants and the knowledge that she could meet up with any of her siblings at whim when the nightmares became overwhelming.

"Sweet Home Chicago" Cameron muttered under her breath.

Chase caught her mutter, and shook his head. He knew that she had grown up in Chicago but that was all.

"What, you didn't like it here?"

"Some days were better then others." She responded.

"Everybody lies." House came up behind her and she jumped a little before giving him a sharp glare.

"And life's a bitch and then you die. What else is new?"

House whistled. "Dr. Cameron, what did they do to you on the plane? You're not bright and cheerful."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Let's get out of here, I'm starving."

"Avoidance, always the best tactic" House replied but didn't press her. "Cuddy said that we have a rental car." The Ducklings followed him with their suitcases, towards the rent-a-car area until they finally got to the car.

House raised an eyebrow when she took the keys from the man standing there and slid into the drivers' seat of the car he had taken them to.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Driving."

"No, you don't drive." Chase and Foreman had climbed in the back – figuring that House was driving and being gentlemen decided to give Cameron shotgun.

"I do though. I'm hungry, and I know where I'm going, so if you drive it will just take longer to eat." The two glared at each other for a moment before House grumbled good-naturedly.

"It better not be a girl salad place."

"Nope." Twenty minutes later they pulled up to a place that looked like a biker bar, with a skeleton on a motorcycle in front.

"Welcome to the Twisted Spoke," was all Cameron said as she grabbed her purse and stepped out.

"You brought us to a biker bar?"

Cameron merely shrugged. Technically, House was right but it didn't become a Biker Bar until much later into the evening.

"It's only a biker bar late at night, and as you can tell, right now its only 6:30."

"So we're not going to die?" Cameron snorted.

"Nope, we're fine."

This was definitely a new side to Cameron House thought as he watched her stride confidently into the restaurant.

* * *

"So how exactly did you find this place?" Foreman asked around a mouthful of 'Boss Hog Sandwich' that Cameron had recommended. She set down her chicken and cheese quesadilla and took a sip of root beer.

"My Aunt and Uncle use to take my other siblings and me here."

"Really?"

"We would go to whatever game was that day and then we would drive out here for lunch, depending on who got to pick."

"Games?"

"Different sports."

"You played sports?" Cameron leveled Foreman with a look.

"Don't most kids? Between my siblings we had basically every sport covered. By the time I got to high school I had to drop down to just hockey and soccer, but before that I tried almost everything." The waiter handed her the bill, successfully interrupting her word-vomit and she smiled her thanks. "Let's get out of here."

Foreman and Chase began to immediately protest when she paid the bill and Cameron rolled her eyes again.

"You can pay next time."

The four walked out into the setting sun and Cameron shielded her eyes. At a little after eight, the sun had started to slowly sink below the horizon.

Chicago was home, but since her mothers' death when she was 15, it hadn't been the mystical magical place she loved.

Being there with House, Foreman and Chase was making it special again. With that thought, Cameron climbed into the car and drove away from the Twisted Spoke towards their hotel.

* * *

"Two reservations under House." The woman at the front desk glared at House irritated.

"One moment sir."

Cameron just barely held in her sigh. Of all the places that they had ended up it had to be the Intercontinental. Sure, it was a beautiful hotel, but it held some not so great memories – just like most things in Chicago did.

The woman from the front desk handed him a set of keys and then gave them instructions on how to get to their rooms. Cameron listened with only a half ear, but fell back into reality when she heard House's voice.

"Okay and now time for room situations." He made a face. "Sadly I cannot make all three of you room together, I'd get in trouble. Ladies first, Chase who do you want to room with?" House snarked.

"Umm… Cameron."

"The people that are here will need to get some sleep, so for all our sanity I'm going to say no. Next pick."

"Foreman."

"Fine. I guess that means I'm sleeping with Cameron." He grinned at the three of them and their startled faces. "Not like that! Only I can constantly keep my mind in the gutter. Let's go."

Cameron followed the three of them feeling dazed and slightly out of it. And tired, so very tired, all she wanted to do was sleep. She wished that she were rooming with Foreman. Out of all of them it probably would have been the least awkward. Things with Chase were still uncomfortable. She had ended their little tryst, but that didn't mean much to him.

The two rooms were right next to each other with a sitting room/kitchen area in between. There were connecting doors so that you could go from room to room. Most of their time at the hotel would probably be spent in that room because it also had a big screen TV.

"Earth to Cameron!"

Cameron looked at House and realized that they were at their room.

"What?"

"You blanked out on me for a minute, c'mon, we're at our room." Cameron didn't say anything, just followed him into the room.

As a child she had always been able to tune people out. It was a skill that constantly frustrated her family, but that was useful when her parents use to argue, or someone was fighting in her house. She would slip into one of her siblings' room and curl up at the foot of their bed, reading until she fell asleep.

Cameron put her suitcase on the bed and collapsed next to it. She shouldn't have been that tired, but the week that she was going to have was torture. Keeping up her façade, especially in Chicago, would be exhausting alone, and not running into anyone who would tell her father that she was there wouldn't help.

Cameron had too many siblings in her opinion, and they made life exhausting more then her father even did. Matthew was 42 and the oldest, followed by Nicholas at 40, Eleanor at 36 and herself at 33. Those were her full siblings. Then there was Finna at 23, Teagan at 20 and Siobhan at 18. They were her three half siblings, and their relationship was a lot more rocky due to age and differences to how they had been raised.

Cameron's phone began to ring, the chorus of _Wish You Were Here_ and she smiled before answering it.

"Hey Ellie. Yeah. Okay, that sounds good. See you later."

She hung up and wondered how she will sneak out of the room at 4:30 in the morning. It was easy when she was alone, but with someone in her room – she'd figure it out later.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw House standing there. He was leaning against the door jam, watching her. And suddenly, it was all too much. Memories were flashing in her head and she needed to get out. Cameron stood and met Houses gaze steadily.

"I'm going for a walk." With that she disappeared into the hallway, already lost in memories.

* * *

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_27 years ago_

Allison sat with her sister on her bed listening intently as she screamed into the phone.

"Allie, come here."

Her mother beckoned her over and she immediately slipped off the bed and over to her. "I think that you should let Ellie argue with your father, you don't need to be here."

"Yes I do." The six year old looked up at her, hands on hips. "She needs me, because she's sad. I can make it better."

Elizabeth Kramer looked at her small daughter. Her pixie like face was turned up in stubbornness, and her usually innocent gap toothed grin was turned down in a frown. Allie usually would not get upset, but when it came to her father something was always causing problems between them.

"Okay Allie, you stay with us, but if I tell you to leave, leave and come back in a few minutes."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Lots of whys." The small girl replied. "Why did daddy have to meet Gwen, why did he leave, why is he getting married?"

Elizabeth bent to gather her daughter in her arms. At almost seven she was still small and light. She had been worried, but the doctor had assured her that it was fine, besides, her sister had been the same.

"I don't know baby."

"Yes you do." Eleanor appeared next to her, and Elizabeth looked at her startled. She hadn't even heard her daughter hang up the phone.

"He left because of Gwen, Allie. He loved her more then us."

"Honey -" Elizabeth started warningly.

"What?" She demanded harshly. "It's true and you know it."

The two began to argue, the nine year old set in her opinions already, and soon the door slammed and the pounding of feet was heard.

"We're home." Nick and Matt were covered in dirt and looked tired from the various practices they had gone to.

"What's going on Al, El?" Nick asked in concern noting the expression on her face and the tearstains on the two younger Cameron siblings faces.

"Daddy's getting married." None of the Cameron siblings talked to their father for at least a month and a half.

* * *

_23 Years Ago_

"Come hold your sister Allison." The ten-year-old girl hung back next to her sister and brothers uncertainty written on face.

Was she her sister? The tiny bundle in her fathers' arms was screaming. Allison looked at her in distaste. She had enough siblings. And they were siblings that she loved and knew her whole life. This baby had a weird name. _Finna_. And she didn't look at all like her other siblings. All the Cameron children had the same eyes. There had to be some mistake.

Before Allison could protest, she was sitting in a rocking chair holding her little sister. "Was I this small when I was born?" Allison asked her father in amazement.

Her dad looked at her a frown on his face. "Allison… now is not the time to be focused on yourself look at your little sister."

"Squirt." Matt was looking at her a small smile on his face.

"Yeah?"

"You were even tinier. And the first time that I held you, guess what?"

"What?" She was curious, eyes bright as she looked at her 19 year old brother.

"You didn't even cry." Thomas Cameron glared at his oldest son. The day was not supposed to be about Allison, but his other daughter.

"We should get going dad." Nick supplied. Ellie nodded.

"Yeah. We have a Scavenger Hunt for a special someone today."

Allison smiled at her siblings. She was glad that they had remembered. Throughout the day they had sang to her (in multiple languages), tickled her, teased her, anything to remind her that it was _her_ special day and nobody – not even a new week old sister - could take that away.

Elizabeth had made a donut cake for breakfast, and organized a yearly birthday tradition. Her boyfriend Joe had called first thing in the morning to sing to her (he was working in L.A. right now), and had gotten her a bunch of medical books and some scrubs and other doctor things.

Allison had wanted to be a doctor for about four years now. She was determined, and no one in her family was going to stop her.

Thomas Cameron registered the date and winced. March 17th, his second youngest daughters' birthday. But, he could not be to blame about being forgetful. His wife had just given birth to a new daughter and the week had been fraught with emotion and excitement.

"We'll celebrate after Finna is taken home from the hospital." He said stiffly.

Allison just looked at him and then she handed the baby to the nurse who had been standing close by, before running out of the room, tears filling her eyes.

"Why'd you have to do that?" Ellie stared at her father with accusing eyes. "You couldn't even admit that you were wrong or wish her a happy birthday?" She stormed out, Matt and Nick following closely behind.

* * *

_18 Years Ago_

"Where is she?" A frantic fifteen girl dashed into the hospital waiting room. It was actually more of a hop, with a bad leg dragging behind, and an arm in a cast, but the girl could barely feel it. She was followed by a doctor who was frowning.

"Miss Cameron, I'm going to have to ask you to sit down and let me finish examining you." The girl looked at him as if he was insane.

"My mother is somewhere in this hospital and I need to find her. I don't care how I am right now; I'm fine, just tell me where she is."

"Allie!" At the sound of Nicks voice, she turned and charged towards her brother. She was covered in her mothers' blood and her own, but her 22 year old brother didn't care and just swept her into his embrace. Allison took one look at his face and burst into tears.

"NO!"

"She died at the scene baby."

He cradled her and she continued to sob. She smelled Ellie's perfume before she felt the eighteen year olds arms embrace her and the trickle of tears hit her.

Matthew's arms were next to wrap around everyone, and the four of them stood there crying and leaning on each other for support. Octopus Arms, Elizabeth use to tease. Eight arms would hang onto each other for dear life. None noticed the absence of their father; they were used to it by now.

"Guys." All four turned and almost landed as one into their stepfather's arms. He was a large man with a stocky build.

As the director known as the 'Alfred Hitchcock' of his generation, he was quiet famous, but none of them noticed the entourage of people all too focused on Joseph Dyer, who they called Papa Joe or P.J. for short.

Later they would be enraged by the pictures of the five of them splashed on the magazines. Especially one of the ones of Allison. In it she was sobbing, wrapped in Joe's embrace. Blood covered some of her face, and you could see her foot was twisted at an awkward angle. The caption above the picture had been _Daughter Of Elizabeth Kramer Miraculously Saved In Crash That Killed Her Mother._ In smaller print on the same page was "_Who will get custody of the youngest child?"_

Inside was the explanation of the Cameron family tree. Elizabeth Kramer had married Thomas Cameron, and they had had four children. Elizabeth was a famous musician and had starred in a few movies. She was most famous for her singing, but was also a songwriter, guitarist and pianist.

Thomas was a lawyer, a partner at a large firm. After the birth of their children, they had moved to a suburb of Chicago, around where the two had grown up, Elizabeth giving up her career. Soon after their youngest daughter was born, Elizabeth had thrown Thomas out.

He had been cheating on her with his secretary Gwen and Elizabeth had told him to get his act together or leave. The two had gotten divorced, and agreed on joint custody. When Allison was 7, Eleanor 10, Nicholas 14, and Matthew 16, Gwen and Thomas had gotten married.

Three years after that they had produced Finna, three years after that Teagan, and then two more years after that Siobhan. After Allison's death, custody had defaulted to Thomas. Although P.J. had been a large part of her life, he technically had no legal claim to her. For the three years that she lived fully with her father, Cameron never mentioned what had happened inside that house.

Her father had never raped her and had never touched her in a way that wasn't gentle. Mostly what he did was work. But, the scars on her back showed a different story about the supposedly 'fine' family.

She was only used as a punching bag when her Step-Uncle Adam visited. He found fault in everything she did. Although her father and his wife were not the best parents too her, they tried. Adam was the youngest in her stepmother's family, and all of them made excuses for him. Besides the violence her Step-Uncle Adam had taken care of ripping her childhood away from her in a different way.

She was in charge of her half-siblings, and if she couldn't watch them when he was there, there would be hell to pay. And although her father never hit her, harsh words and loud voices were frequent in the household.

Cameron realized that she was back at the hotel and she slipped inside. She had wandered for nearly an hour, and felt somewhat better. That is, until, she walked into the room and was confronted by an angry House.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter. Thanks to the reviewers. **

* * *

**Chapter 3  
**

"Where have you been?" House was seething.

His young immunologist, a _woman_ who he was pretty sure could not defend herself was out walking in Chicago until eleven _at night_. She was gone for nearly an hour. Anything could've happened to her.

"I went for a walk. I told you that. Unless that was the other House I was talking too."

"Do you know what could have happened to you?" Cameron tried to pass him but he grabbed her wrist and spun her until she was forced to look at him. "Do you?"

Her head was beginning to pound.

Everyone had escaped Chicago as soon as if was legally possible and she had always just looked after herself. (Ellie to Colorado, Nicky to L.A. and Matt to New York.) If she was wandering around Chicago at all hours of the night, that was her problem.

Escaping out of one of the windows from her room onto a porch, down a tree and then onto the sidewalk was something that she had done often, mostly in the summer.

She would meet up with friends and family - stepfamily included - and siblings who didn't want to see her father and his wife. Anyone was fair game. Downtown Chicago had always been just a hop, skip and jump away from her and she had learned many of its secrets at a young age. She now held that knowledge in her hands and used it at will – as she well should be able to being 33 and only responsible for herself.

"Nothing did happen to me though. I'm fine." House tightened his grip on her arm.

"Let go House." His grip was starting to hurt, nothing that she hadn't dealt with before, but this side of House was scaring her some.

"House _let me go_." With the harsher tone to her voice he let go immediately as if he had been burned. She walked over to her suitcase and grabbed a pair of pajamas, leveling House with a glare.

"I can take care of myself House, and if I want to go wandering around at all hours of the night, that's my business, not yours."

"You work for me, it's my business." Cameron ignored him and disappeared into the bathroom. When she returned she was wearing shorts and a tank top.

"I'm going to bed. Good night House." Her tone was short but he wasn't paying attention to that. He was focused on her stomach.

Her shirt had ridden up slightly, and her shorts were hanging low on her hips, almost too big on her. The low shorts and ridden up shirt revealed scars beneath and around her belly button. They were old scars, deep, but they seemed to have healed and disappeared some, as if she had had surgery to make them smaller.

"What happened?"

"Car accident when I was a kid." Cameron didn't even look up, but House could tell by the way that she stiffened that she was lying.

He decided to grill her about it later. There was still a week left and making her angry with him in less then one day would be an almost record. Cameron had a slow fuse, especially with House.

"Good night Cameron." He replied instead, stripping down to boxers and a tshirt and slipping into his own bed.

He hoped that his leg wouldn't cause him too much pain, but he knew that he would be up early. Plane rides killed him.

* * *

House woke up and rolled over to check the time. 4:00 in the morning. He popped a few Vicodin and then sat up. It was later then he expected. To his surprise, he heard someone moving around, trying to be quiet.

House waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark and was surprised to see Cameron dressed and grabbing her purse and shoes.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?"

Cameron froze and didn't answer him. House turned on the light to reveal her guilty face.

"Don't pretend I'm going crazy. I'm not going to let you go until I know where you're going. And then of course, I may want to come with you. I shouldn't really even let you leave; we have speakers to see tomorrow."

"House…" Her voice was a mere whisper. "Just let me be, I'll be back before anyone else wakes up."

"No can do. I'm responsible for my ducklings well being. Especially because it would be wrong for me to just let you leave, you never know what's out there."

"A taxi cab is out there. I'm pretty sure the driver isn't going to turn around and stab me to death."

"You never know."

"In Princeton you may not know, but the Chicago cabbies wouldn't kill you. They don't care who you are, they just want to get you to your destination and get paid."

"You sound familiar with the Cabbie system here."

"So what if I am?" Cameron had usually walked to her destination, or the person she was seeing had picked her up, but cab rides insanely early in the morning weren't uncommon or something she hadn't been doing at the age of fifteen.

"Well, I'd say that means that you must have been here a lot."

"I lived here." Cameron admitted. House didn't know anything about her past. Chase only knew that she had grown up in Chicago. Cameron wanted to keep it that way. The past was not something she dwelled upon.

Anyway, she was tired, and wanted to leave. Arguing with House would've taken forever.

"When?"

"If I tell you when can I leave? I'm running late as it is."

House swung his legs over the side of his bed and limped over to her. He got extremely close to her, causing Cameron to take a step back.

"No."

"Then it's none of your business."

"Cameron, tell me."

"Let me leave."

"You can't leave by yourself."

"Why do you suddenly care?" Her eyes were defiant and her chin was jutting out slightly.

Her brothers use to tease her about her stubbornness. She was as pig headed as they came, and they had no problem telling her that.

One particular favorite memory was the time she had broken her ankle in soccer. She had continued to play until half time and then told her coach she was okay to go back in. She had lasted all about ten minutes into the game before her limp became obvious. P.J. and her mother had practically had to tie her up to get her to go to the hospital to get checked out.

"You work for me. I don't want to have to find another immunologist."

"So what," Cameron laughed. "It would be safer if I just brought you with me?"

House grinned. Now they were getting somewhere. "Done."

She stared at him like he had grown two heads. "Cat's chance in hell that's happening."

"Why not?"

"What would you do if I said no? Fire me?" Cameron's voice was completely mocking. House looked at her.

"I'd follow you there. No way to stop me."

"Wanna bet?" The two stared at each other with glares on their faces.

* * *

At 4:54 Cameron walked into a Denny's trailed by a triumphant House.

The place was empty and no one gave the two people walking in a glance.

The other three people sitting in the restaurant were a different story though. They shot Cameron surprised glances, which she responded to with an irritated glare.

"Don't say one word."

The silence lasted almost 30 seconds before one of the guys leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and smirked at Cameron.

"But I want to say one word."

Cameron slapped the man playfully on the back of the head allowing a grin to escape.

"Nope. You can't."

House took a moment to examine the three people in front of him. There were two boys and a girl. All three seemed more amused by his presence than unhappy and he wondered who they were.

The lone girl was sitting and facing House. He could only assume that these were her siblings. She had Cameron's eyes and smile but had jet-black hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail.

Cameron's hypothetical brothers had both turned around when she walked in and House saw that they also had Cameron's eyes. The man who had talked had dirty blonde hair that was shaggy and he seemed to shake his head every few minutes to get it out of his face. The other man had darker brown hair that was buzzed short.

"Her word is law." The woman added cheerfully.

"I could take you Nicky." Cameron teased the man a soft smile on her face.

The other man just smiled. "So, are you going to introduce us or are we going to sit here like a bunch of idiots?"

"Idiots?" The woman guessed.

Cameron laughed. "House, these are the crack jobs I call siblings. Matt, Nick and Ellie, this is my boss House."

"He caught you?"

"And I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for those pesky kids." Cameron lobbed back easily.

"So, you're the youngest?" It wasn't exactly how old their faces looked, but the ease at which an older sibling would tease a younger one. Cameron sat down and House sat next to her.

"Yeah. Matt is 42, Nicky's 40, and Ellie's 36." She reached for an onion ring off Matt's plate and he smacked her gently on the arm.

"You gave away the age squirt, no food for you."

"Is this what you will be doing the entire night?" House was amazed. He had never seen Cameron this relaxed.

"Tonight yes, tomorrow no." Ellie shrugged and passed her sister a piece of toast, which she began to eat.

"We have to go pack up our mom's house." Nicky explained.

"Why now?" House was interest. Cameron had never mentioned the fact that her mother was dead, and he felt as though Cuddy or Wilson would have clued him in if Cameron had taken time off for a funeral.

"It was time."

Houses' silence was enough for Cameron to sigh and elaborate. "She died when I was fifteen. We just haven't gotten around to cleaning house yet. No one wants to. P.J. paid off the rest of the house, and he stayed there until we all left Chicago. The four of us usually crash there when we're in town if we don't stay at our Aunt's."

"P.J.?"

"It's short for Papa Joe." Matt seemed almost amused. "He's been like a father since we were kids, so we called him Papa, usually P.J. Now everyone in the family calls him that."

"Can we get outta here?" Cameron had finished the piece of toast Ellie had given her and looked bored. Obviously they had talked about what was going on that night. "We got a house to pack up."

"I got the keys Squirt, you can't go anywhere."

"Wanna bet?" Cameron held up one hand. The car keys glinted from her hand. House's jaw dropped. He had never even seen her take them. Before another word could be said Cameron dashed out of the restaurant Matt at her heels. Ellie signaled the waitress with a sigh for their check.

"Five." Nick threw a ten down on the table and leaned back with a smile.

"No, I'd say ten." Ellie added another ten dollars to the table and then she looked at her watch. "It's 5:11 right now."

"You're betting on how long they're going to be chasing each other?"

"Yeah." Nick was amused by how confused Houses sounded.

"Put me down for seven." House tossed another ten on the table. The three of them were content watching the two dash around the outside of Taco Bell and was surprised when Cameron ran back in, Matt not behind her but an older woman.

"Look who I found!"

The siblings dissolved into animated chatter after each gave her a hug and House stared, stunned. "I'm Maggie." She acknowledged him with a smile. "I'm their father's first wife."

"So that would make their mother the second?"

"In a long line of idiots who married my father, she was the first. Our mother was the second." Cameron informed House absentmindedly.

"Thanks Al for that lovely introduction."

"How many is a long line?"

"Only three." Ellie shrugged. "But they were all idiots. No offense Maggie."

"None taken El, we were probably all idiots for marrying him." Maggie's tone was matter-of-fact, and she didn't seem upset about the siblings sarcastic take on their dad's love life.

Matt turned to explain to House. "Maggie was wife number one, high school sweethearts all that jazz. Mom was the one that was ya'know 'love at first sight' and we call his present wife Gwen the mid-life crisis wife."

House snorted. He didn't see Cameron as the kind of person who would come up with a name like that. He wondered why she was so different with her family then with him. Even at work, his other fellows let some personality shine through.

"You know the problem with Denny's?" A man's voice interrupted.

"They don't have alcohol?" Ellie guessed.

"Bingo. Hey guys."

Having paid Ellie stood up and began to usher her siblings towards the door, throwing an arm around the man who had appeared.

"Richard!"

"And Richard would be your-"

"Maggie's husband." Cameron supplied. "We're not sure what that would make him."

"Part of a screwed up family?" Matt offered.

"I hate to break up this lovely shindig, but -" All of the Cameron kids groaned at that.

"But Richard, I don't wanna."

"Wow." House was impressed. "That was in complete unison."

"We can sing in unison too." Ellie sassed back. "We have mad skill."

"That I want to hear."

"You really don't." Cameron replied.

"Says the woman who has the most amazing voice." Cameron fixed Richard with a look.

"Don't start please."

"No, no" House waved his cane. "I want to hear this. Sing a song."

"Um, nope."

"Yes." Cameron sighed.

"We have to get going soon if we're going to make it back in time for the conference. I'll sing tomorrow."

"It's only about 5:30, the speakers don't start till nine."

"We have to catch a cab that will get us back to the hotel, get dressed, shower, eat breakfast, get Chase and Foreman and get there on time. We also have to call Wilson and Cuddy, which will result in about forty minutes of conversation. By the time everything is said and done it will be time to go."

"You can't fight that one." Matt pointed out, shaking his head.

"Fine." House pouted.

"Oh, stop pouting House. I'll sing tomorrow, when everyone is together. I'm assuming that you want to come with to help us pack?"

"You're not going to try to sneak out again?"

"Don't think it would happen. It would just take time and effort to even try it."

"We try and use logic from time to time." Matt explained shooting an innocent grin House's way.

"No we don't." Cameron told him.

At the same time Nicky said "What?" and Ellie laughed.

"That's interesting, because your family doesn't agree with you."

"They never do. They're slightly screwed up."

"Are not!" Cameron shot back, an easy grin on her face.

"Right Al. The last time we were all together, and I mean mom and P.J. when was it?"

Cameron's eyes scrunched in thought. "Um… the first day of Hanukkah, so about two weeks before the car accident."

"And what was going on then?"

Cameron sighed. "I'm not even going to answer that."

"I will." Ellie volunteered easily with a grin. Matt was grinning too because he knew that he was right. "I just broke up with Charlie – Dan – what was his name?"

"Steve?"

"I thought it was Sam."

"No wasn't he after Derek?"

"Who Steve or Sam?"

"You had a boyfriend named Derek? I don't remember him." The Cameron children became lost in thought for a moment before Ellie shrugged.

"Anyway, I was upset because I found him cheating with that Whorish red-head, and Matt had that new blonde bimbo as a girlfriend."

"Claire" Cameron interrupted.

"Right. And then you had broken your arm doing something stupid. Nicky was mad because he had to miss some party or something. Plus, there was that whole drama with Dad and Gwen." Cameron groaned.

"I don't wanna talk about that." She complained.

"Bad memories?" House questioned.

"And on that note we say so long and farewell." Cameron didn't answer House's question.

"But I'm right, we are screwed up." House nearly choked when Cameron didn't answer him, just gave him the bird.

"Are you going to sing the Sound of Music?" Matt asked with a grin.

"Nope." her blue eyes were sparkling.

"She's no longer sixteen going on seventeen." Ellie teased.

"If you guys are the Von Traps, then who are the Nazi's?"

There was a moment of silence after Maggie's question. "Dad and the stepmonster?" Matt finally answered.

"Ohh." House surveyed at the family. "You must really not like them."

"You could say that we don't get along."

"But that would just be saying things." Nicky pointed out with a shrug.

"Exactly just saying things." The seven had made it outside and were exchanging hugs and details about what would happen the next evening.

"We really should get going now."

Nicky stepped to the curb and hailed a cab for his sister. "We'll see you tomorrow squirt. We should get going too though. I can't believe we're getting back into our old habits."

"Yeah, well what can we do about it? Do you guys just want to meet at the house and start?"

"Why not?" Cameron sighed and jerked her head at the door. "C'mon House let's go." They were halfway there when Ellie yelled 'Allie.'

She turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"No warnings even?"

Cameron shrugged. "Never did to anyone else, plus that's not fun."

Matt and Nicky sighed and shook there heads, but Ellie laughed. "See you later sis."

"Right back atcha." Cameron hailed a cab and slid into the back, House close behind.

"What was she talking about?"

"Nothin'. It's a sister thing."

"But your brothers knew what she meant."

"Fine, it's a Cameron family thing then."

"Al!"

"I swear to God -" Cameron muttered under her breath and then slid over House and stuck her head out the window.

"What Mattie?!" House was speechless. Cameron was half laying on him, her body dangerously close to his. He could feel the heat of her body and could smell her hair. She used something that made her hair smell like vanilla. It actually smelled very nice and House inhaled quietly.

"Dad doesn't know you're here yet, and Shi said Adam's in town. Tell him it was a last minute planning thing. And if you see him -"

"Duck fast and pray to the God we don't believe in that family dinner invitations aren't extended to us this time. I'm not an idiot guys."

"Just be careful Al, that's all I'm saying. Punching bags break easily."

"No they don't. And I'm just telling you that I can take care of myself. I'll see you tomorrow." Before they could get in another word Cameron sat down and told the cab driver where to go.

She caught House looking at her startled. "What?"

"Duck fast? What the hell does that mean?" He decided to deal with that statement first. Family dinners were something he didn't think any child enjoyed, and the comment about punching bags had a hidden meaning that he would figure out later.

"So he doesn't see me." Cameron turned and gave their destination to the cab driver, before closing her eyes and leaning her head back.

"Care to explain?"

"Nope."

"Bad answer, next answer."

"None of your damn business." House opened his mouth but Cameron cut him off.

"Just leave it alone, House, okay? I don't want to talk about it or anything that they yelled just before we left." The rest of the ride was taken in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
**

Cameron and House made it back to the hotel and had time to shower and get ready before Chase and Foreman even woke up. House snoozed on the couch with the news on while Cameron puttered around making coffee and eating breakgast Neither mentioned the conversation in the cab or the family House had met. By the time that Chase and Foreman wandered into the kitchen area Cameron and House were sitting down drinking coffee.

"What do you guys plan on doing today?" Cameron asked after they exchanged good mornings. "There is a meet and greet tonight from seven to nine thirty at Carmichael's, and two presenters this morning but that's it."

"I want to explore." Chase informed her. "Want to come?"

House knew that there was a thinly veiled sexual comment in there by the way that Chase was leering at her and it took a lot for him not to smack the Aussie.

He thought that Cameron had called off the whole 'free sex' arrangement. Finding them in the closet had freaked him out. Cameron was a good girl, and that moment had freaked him out as much as he pretended it didn't. Although she had seemed like a bit of a devil child with her siblings it had never carried into her job.

"I'm hoping to go see some old friend's maybe or go swimming at the pool here. Then I have somewhere to be, but maybe later this week."

Cameron ignored his inference, and House was relieved although he didn't know why. It wasn't like he cared about what Cameron did; she could take care of herself.

But, then again that didn't explain why he had been so worried last night. House almost sighed. He'd save his musings on his young, and pretty, yet damaged, naïve immunologist for another day.

Foreman shrugged. "I might go exploring too. The speeches get out a little before noon, so maybe we can eat together and then go our separate ways and then meet up again to get ready for the dinner because we only have one car."

Cameron paused in thought and then nodded. "That sounds good; we need to get going though. The presenters start in ten minutes. "

The four walked out and took the elevator down to the lobby in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

"Well, that wasn't boring or anything." Foreman exclaimed sarcastically as soon as they escaped the speakers.

House snorted. "Even Cameron was sleeping."

Cameron shrugged good-naturedly. "It was boring. Cuddy just said that we had to be there, she never said that we had to pay attention. Why do you think that Chase and Foreman started playing hangman?"

"I won though." Foreman reminded them triumphantly.

Cameron laughed. "When we were kids, my siblings and I were forced to go some ridiculously boring Thanksgiving party with my father. We were there for about half the day and had an extreme hangman and tic-tac-toe marathon. We got in so much trouble."

The kids' part of the story wasn't exactly true. She had been sixteen then (her sister 19, her brothers 23 and 25) and remembered that Adam had been there for Thanksgiving. The anger she had been on the receiving end of had been pretty bad that time. Thankfully nothing had been broken.

The three men chuckled, but House looked at her and knew that there was something she was hiding. She ignored his look and sighed.

"Let's get going. Where do you want to eat?"

"Shouldn't you be the one picking where we eat? I thought you were the one who use to live here."

Cameron ignored him and looked at Foreman and Chase. "Either of you ever been to Ed's?"

"Why are you just asking them and not me?" Cameron ignored him and looked at Foreman and Chase who both shook their heads.

"Then Ed's it is." Cameron led them out of the hotel and towards the car silently. Her phone began to ring and Cameron answered it with a frown when she saw who it was.

"Shi?" There was silence for a moment and Cameron sighed at whatever was said.

"How bad?"

"You've had worse."

"Okay. Actually, we're going to Ed's, so I can swing and get you." Cameron fished the keys out of her purse and slid into the drivers' side.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a few. You too, bye." The three men looked at her, questions written across their faces.

"My sister is going to be eating lunch with us. I'll drop you guys off to get a table and pick her up."

"Her name is Shi?" House asked with a raised eyebrow. He was pretty sure that Ellie was her only sister. He thought that it was just the four of them and she was the youngest.

"Siobhan. She's my half-sister technically."

"And Irish."

"My dad's wife is Irish. They named their daughters, my half sisters Finna, Teagan and Siobhan."

"How old are they?" House was surprised. If she was 33, and her siblings were all older then they couldn't be that much younger, right?

"Finna is 23, Teagan is 20 and Siobhan is almost 18." Cameron started the car and the rest of the ride was taken in silence.

* * *

She pulled up to Ed's and stopped the car. "I'll be back in about ten minutes. Get a table and make sure House doesn't kill the server. Tell them you want a table by the bar."

The three men gave her weird looks and she sighed. "Just trust me." House shook his head.

"I'm going with you." Cameron raised an eyebrow at him.

"No."

"I'm the boss, what I say goes." Cameron looked at him and they locked eyes in an intense staring contest. Finally she sighed.

"We'll be back soon guys." The two of them got out of the car and Cameron pulled out of the parking lot House in tow.

* * *

"We're a block away Shi. Should we wait here or is no one home?" The answer caused Cameron to sigh.

"Okay. Try not to kill yourself doing it. Yeah. See you in five." Cameron tapped an unsteady rhythm on the steering wheel.

"So, younger siblings?"

"You asked me if I was the youngest meaning out of the four of them. Technically I am the middle child with all of my siblings. Only when I was here was I not the youngest."

"You lived here?" House looked around at the mansions surrounding them.

"My father did. I lived here for about three years, and escaped as soon as I could." The sarcastic comment escaped her lips before she could help it. Everyone in Chicago knew her family history, her past. Being here made her shields lower a little bit and she knew it was something she was going to regret soon if House kept asking questions.

"Cameron escaping from her family? I thought that you would love them and see them as much as possible when you came here." House thought of last night. She had seemed delighted to see her siblings.

"Why?" The back door opened and a girl looked at him. "Why would we want to spend time with them, they suck."

"You took the words right out of my mouth Shi." She turned to House to explain briefly. "I don't really get along with my father or his wife." That he remembered from last night.

"And the other two are annoying brats." House stared at the girl in front of him. She had Cameron's blue-gray-green ever changing eyes and honey blonde hair. She wore jeans and a t-shirt. She was wearing a walking boot – the kind you got after breaking a bone, but not terribly - and a purse was slung over her shoulder.

"Shi this is my boss Dr. House, House this is my little sister Siobhan."

"Call me Shi, I hate Siobhan." She ordered as she slid into the back, slamming the door and buckling herself in.

"What's your full name?"

"What's yours?"

"Gregory House M.D. It stands for massive dick."

Shi snorted. "Right, if you keep telling yourself that maybe it will come true. Siobhan Kayla Cameron."

"Big name for a small person."

"Says the guy with the tiny dick." Cameron ignored their steady banter, but let out a snort at the last one.

"You look like crap." House could see faint bruises littered her face.

"Yeah, well, we can't all be as pretty as you all the time. Besides, it's not like I can do anything about it. Too dangerous to try to get to the store right now." Siobhan's tone was sarcastic and she sounded irritated.

House was surprised when Cameron handed Siobhan her purse and she pulled out cover up and began to hide the bruises with some skill.

"And why exactly was it dangerous?"

"I'm grounded. I was out way past curfew, snuck back in smelling like smoke and then mouthed off. Adam is supposed to be watching me, but he doesn't care." Cameron knew that was a lie, but said nothing.

"Leaving your house wasn't dangerous now?"

"You go into what used to be Allie's room, jump out the window onto Finna's deck and climb down the tree. You could just go from Finna's deck, but Adam would've seen me go in her room. He won't bother me in Allie's room usually." Shi smiled at him and touched a bruise a little too hard with a wince.

"What happened to you?" Siobhan stopped putting on the cover-up for a minute and looked him over, eyes critically scanning him.

"What happened to you?" She replied gesturing towards the cane on the seat next to her.

"None of your business."

"Well, then, what happened to me is none of yours." House cocked his head and stared at her.

"I like you, Cameron can keep you."

"And here I was worried I was going out the window."

"That was Finna." Cameron pointed out.

"Right. You should've thrown her out a window, would've made life so much better."

"Except I would be in jail."

"P.J. would've gotten you out."

"Justifiable homicide?"

"No other way around it."

"Do you two always discuss murder so casually?"

"Only in relation to our siblings." Cameron stopped at a red light and Siobhan unbuckled and changed the radio station.

"What are you doing?"

"This music sucks. Singing in the car is a requirement with this family."

Cameron snorted as _U + Ur Hand_ came on the radio. "Having withdrawal?"

"Yes. I'm listening to Frank all day. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but come on! Anything else! Please."

Cameron chuckled. "I do have vivid memories of that. Are you coming this weekend?"

"If I can get out of the house again."

"Good luck."

"Hey, I learned from the master. Hopefully I can get out. If not, how'd you do it?"

"With skill, it might be harder with broken bones."

"Look whose talking."

"Yeah." Cameron pulled up to Ed's and parked. "Let's go." Siobhan was out of the car with ease, and ginning. She was balanced expertly with the boot – it's difference from a shoe gave some people trouble - and House had a feeling that she'd broken bones more then once.

"Do you think that they killed anyone yet?"

"It was kinda mean to have them go into Ed Debevic's without warning."

"Why?" Neither woman answered. "I'm your boss. I can fire you."

"Ahh, but you wouldn't."

"C'mon tell me, or I'll hit the server with my cane."

"That he would actually do." Cameron told her sister who was staring at them eyes wide.

"Ed Debevic's is an entertainment restaurant. The servers will tease you, taunt you, make-fun of you and harass you all around. They dance on the bar and it's always entertaining to be there. Plus, the food isn't bad. The servers are usually kids waiting to be 'found'. There's an assortment of musicians, writers, singers, dancers. It's great."

"And the food is free." Siobhan teased.

"Yeah that too." House raised an eyebrow and Cameron explained.

"My mother used to work here. We get free food."

"All old employees get free food?" Cameron shot a glare at her sister and wondered how she could get out of this one.

"No. I'll explain later okay?"

"But I wanna know now."

"Too bad, so sad." The three headed into the restaurant not knowing what to expect.

* * *

Cameron led them into Ed's and found Foreman and Chase easily.

"What did you get us into Cameron?"

"Nothing really. It's just Ed's. Nothing scary."

"The moment we walked in some guy tried to kick us out. The people here are crazy!"

"That's Chicago for you."

"It's called eat and get out. It's their slogan." Siobhan explained. "You guys didn't get hats yet?" The three sat down and Foreman and Chase stared at her, more in confusion over the fact that she could've been Cameron's identical twin then the hats she was talking about.

"Hats?" Before the two could question her further a woman appeared at their table.

"Welcome to Ed's." Promptly paper hats reading _Ed Debevic's_ were set upon each of their heads.

"I'm Gloria. I'll be your server. If you have a problem with that, leave. If you don't great. What can I get you to drink?"

Shi and Cameron laughed. "A chocolate malt please."

"I'll have the same." The three men stared at her and she tapped her foot.

"What'll it be for you three?"

"Just give 'em chocolate malts too Gloria, they'll like them. And can we have the Kitchen Sink Nachos for an appetizer?"

"Anything else?"

Will you send out Big Ed? He's an old friend."

"Whatever you say Toots." The woman walked away and the two girls laughed.

"I missed this place so much."

"Yeah."

"Chase, Foreman this is my sister Siobhan. Shi, Chase and Foreman."

"Nice to meet you." House watched the waitress walk away.

"House?" Shi was watching the man with a small smile.

"Yeah?" He looked at the girl and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you used to work here?" The other three people laughed but House just kept looking at her.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you sound like you did." House was about to comment when someone covered Cameron's eyes. He cut off his response to watch the two of them. She didn't seem upset or scared by him, just amused.

"Hey Eddie."

"Hey little lady. I didn't know you were in town."

"Conference."

"Because those are fun."

"Story of my life" Cameron and Shi said together.

"I knew there was a reason I missed the seven of you."

"Seven?"

"Well, there was you, Shi, Ellie, Nicky, Matt, P.J. and your mother. Oh, and on occasion Maggie and Richard."

"We were quite a crew weren't we?"

"Yeah. How's your family?"

"Well, Nick's engaged to -" Cameron paused and her and Shi both made trumpeting noises "Anna." Causing them to crack up and get weird looks from Foreman, Chase and House.

"Finally."

Cameron laughed. "That's what we said. Matt's same old, same old. Stephanie's fine and so are the kids. Brendan is being a ten-year-old boy, and is currently banned from the kitchen because he almost set the house on fire by not paying attention. Melanie is being Melanie. She's all about ballet now, really into it. They still have twin talk going on though."

"And Elliot?"

"Is just happy, he's seven, so he and Bren gang up on Mel from time to time, but she can hold her own."

"I still can't believe he has kids. I remember when he was born." Cameron snorted.

"That just shows how old you really are."

"I'll ignore the comment, keep going."

"Ellie broke up with Sam."

"Thank the Lord. Is she heart broken?"

"Surprisingly no. We're already taking bets though on how long before she finds a rebound guy. Feel free to contribute."

"You just like taking my money."

"Well, _yeah_."

"At least you're honest." The big burly man grimaced as someone called his name. "I'll be back. Stop by if you don't see me. Remember, food is on the house."

"Eddie-"

"No buts. Your mother would never forgive me. Could you imagine Lizzie dragging me out by the ear?"

"She used to do that a lot."

"I know. That's why I'm glad that neither of her daughters inherited that part of her attitude. Although, when the two of you get pissed off-"

Cameron blew him a kiss as Eddie shook his head and laughed.

"Just like your mother. See ya later Kiddo. Later Shi."

"Backatcha Eddie." Cameron smiled at the man she considered an Uncle.

"Bye Eddie." The man walked away and Foreman, House, and Chase all turned to look at her.

"Okay, spill." House demanded.

"Spill what?"

"Everyone seems to know your mother. You said she used to work here. Who the hell was she?"

Gloria reappeared at that moment with nachos and malts.

"Oh come on you idiot! Even I know that one. What can I get you losers to eat?"

Cameron silently thanked the God she didn't believe in for Gloria's interruption and looked at her colleagues and sister.

"I'm ready, what about you guys?" They nodded and all ordered, House and Gloria having a small, but playful banter before she disappeared. As soon as she was gone Cameron felt three pairs of eyes on her.

"Okay, I don't know about you, but they're freaking me out a little Lee."

"PJ!" Cameron's entire face lit up and she jumped up, spun around and hugged the tall man standing there.

"Miss me babe?"

"As always. How'd you know I was here?"

"I called Eddie. Figured that you'd be in here at least once."

"You didn't tell me you were in town."

"I wanted to surprise you. None of your siblings know that I'm here either."

"Well, that's okay then. It's always fun to torture them." Cameron teased her stepfather with a smile.

The three men at the table stared in shock. They, all religious action movie watchers knew exactly who he was. Cameron caught the fly catching pose out of the corner of her eye and sighed.

"Introduction time."

"Isn't it always?"

"No. When I'm not introducing you to people, you're usually scaring them to death."

"I don't intentionally scare them."

"Right. So, you threatening people, you're done with that?"

"Friendly warnings about how much I will hurt them."

"Same thing."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Children!" Siobhan looked at them and shook her head. "You two are worse then me and Teagan."

"Ohh, burn." Cameron commented while P. J. rolled his eyes.

"Teagan and me." He corrected.

"Whatever."

"Can I introduce?"

"Nope."

"Why, you hire someone for that?"

"I'm insulted."

"No you're not."

"Please don't start." Cameron sighed at her sister.

"Fine."

"PJ these are my colleges and boss Foreman, Chase and House. Guys, this is my stepfather Joseph Dyer." The three men closed their mouths and Chase was first to speak.

"Nice to meet you sir."

"It's PJ, or Joe. Either works. Sir or Mr. Dyer makes me feel old."

"You are old."

"I love you too Allie."

"I know you do."

Cameron gestured for him to pull up a chair and the group began to talk animatedly, once they got over their initial shock of seeing _The _Joseph Dyer was Cameron's stepfather.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Fond Memories and Running Away**

"Well, there was that one time that Nicky almost killed you."

"The one time?" PJ asked. House took a moment to study the man. He was splashed in magazines from time to time, but he usually did nothing to create a stir in the celebrity world.

He was a tall man, over six feet. He was in shape, and with his hair a mix of grey and black, and eyes a sharp blue; he was a handsome man for his age. A soft smile had lit up his face when he spoke to his stepdaughter and stepdaughters' half-sister.

Siobhan laughed and corrected herself. "One of the first times I remember."

"What happened?" Foreman leaned forward, amused. Over their food, they had been hearing about Joseph's career and a few Cameron stories. Elizabeth Kramer had also been brought up.

When asked why she didn't mention her childhood and her famous mother and stepfather she had shrugged.

"Would you have treated me differently if you knew who my parents were?" Their silence was the only answer she needed.

Cameron had given up on stopping the stories, and now just ate and teased her family and friends with stories of her own.

It was a slow day and mostly locals were in Ed's. People who had been there all their lives. They knew Joe and didn't feel the need to go take his picture and congratulate him on his latest blockbuster, although some people did stop to say hello to him and 'the girls' who knew them fondly.

"I was about six, so Allie was 20 or 21. Nicky was about 27. Matt was already married. Allie, Ellie and Matt decided to throw a 'let's freak out the girlfriend' type day."

"And how exactly do you do those?" House raised an eyebrow.

"Usually we make some sort of wacky sign, and attack them with silly string and water guns and just act crazy. We don't want to scare whoever they're dating away, but the goofy stuff we do is part of who we are."

"And it's really funny. Anyway, they freaked the girl out. Allie pissed her off."

"You?" Chase stared at her. Over lunch they had found and entirely different side to Cameron.

"Yeah." Cameron smiled. "I think I called her an anorexic whore."

"Was she?" House asked amused.

"Mm-hhhmmm. But that's beside the point. I pissed Nicky off too. Usually he's the calm one and Matt gets mad at me. Mostly Ellie and Nicky fight and Matt and I fight. Ellie and I usually plan the attack on the other two. But that's besides the point."

Siobhan grinned and finished the story.

"He took the water gun from Matt and started chasing her around the house. PJ walked in with some old friends and there's Allie with silly string screaming bloody murder and running from this almost thirty year old man who was going after her with a water gun." The group laughed at the thought.

"I think the best time was when both Nicky and Matt were bringing people home. Mom was still alive and we went insane."

PJ laughed. "I remember that day."

"What happened?" House was watching them in amazement.

"I was eleven. Ellie was about fourteen. Matt was nineteen and Nick was seventeen. We went through all of the pictures and found the most embarrassing ones we could. Put 'em up all over the house. Then we made a massive sign and hung it up in the yard. It said -" She turned to P.J. and tilted her head, trying to remember.

"It said _'Welcome Nicky and Matt's Girlfriends We Hope You Two Last'_ and the two of you attacked Nicky and Matt when they walked in."

"Yeah. You were bad though. You had them star struck and freaked at the same time. That day was funny."

"It's always funny when it's someone else." Shi pointed out.

"Yeah. I know. I hated when you freaked my boyfriends out." Cameron scowled at him slightly.

"It was fun though." Cameron rolled her eyes and the two looked like they were going to start arguing again.

Siobhan smiled. The two of them were hilarious together. She remembered Ellie telling her about the wars that they used to have. P.J. did his best to be the 'cool' stepdad planning lazer tag fights and pool parties and all kinds of adventures for them.

Allie and PJ had a teasing loving relationship, but PJ would play dad and act like an adult when Allie (or any of the Cameron children) needed it.

The group had stood up to say good-bye, when Cameron froze and her face turned pale.

"Shi…" Siobhan noticed why she freaked out and flinched. She was already up and balanced and gave her sister and PJ both another hug.

"I'm outta here. I'll be in the back with Eddie. It was nice to meet everyone." She nodded once and then walked away at an expert speed – even with her boot - her blonde hair flying out behind her.

"Okay. Hopefully I'll see you later." Cameron turned back to PJ he grabbed Siobhan's purse and kissed her cheek.

"I can take Shi home Lee."

"That'd be great PJ." She whispered something in his ear and he smiled at her gently.

"Don't worry about it." He nodded at the three men. "It was nice meeting you. Hopefully we can get together again soon." He disappeared and the three men stared at Cameron.

"And they had to leave so quickly because…" House let his sentence trail off, but his eyes remained steady on her.

"My father is here." Cameron gestured, barely moving her arms. She didn't seem to want to alert the man she was talking about to her presence.

"In case you missed it, Shi's grounded. My father probably doesn't remember I'm here. Seeing me with PJ would open up a whole other can of worms. So," she turned to face the three men, looking them each in the eye. "You never met Shi, didn't know I even had a stepfather."

House was watching her. Her voice was calm and collected, but her eyes betrayed something that looked like fear. "We will." He agreed. "But, then I want the whole story."

"That is the whole story." She turned and walked away before another word could be said.

Feeling House's eyes on her back, she shuddered. He wouldn't rest until he got the whole disgusting, ugly, terrible story that had been the last part of her childhood. But, she wouldn't tell him without a fight.

* * *

"Dad!" House watched in surprise as she walked over to the man and gave him a fake smile and a hug.

_He_ could tell it was a fake and her father didn't even seem to notice. That had to say something about daddy's fathering skills.

"Allison! What are you doing here?" He returned the hug and House gestured for Foreman and Chase to move closer to the duo. He wanted to hear the conversation that father and daughter were having.

"Conference. I e-mailed you about it. Your work e-mail. I was sure that one of the girls would have gotten it."

"Well, maybe they just forgot to tell me. How long are you in?" House got closer to Thomas Cameron and that was when he noticed his eyes.

They were Cameron's color. He had immediately assumed that she would have her father's eyes because Shi had the Cameron eyes. But, there was something different about his eyes. They didn't hold the same warmth that Cameron's did.

Compared to Joseph Dyer who had greeted his stepdaughter with warmth and delight, Thomas Cameron looked less then pleased to see his daughter. He looked like he could care less.

"Dad, these are my colleagues Drs. Chase and Foreman and my boss Dr. House. Guys, this is my father Thomas Cameron."

He gave them each a stiff nod and House noticed his eyes were still cold. They hadn't warmed up when he saw his daughter at all. When Cameron began to ask him questions about his work and some cases he was trying, House saw him finally relax slightly.

Never did he ask her how work was or what she was up to, or even how she was doing living in Princeton.

Cameron was telling her dad that she would call him later when House saw a man walk into Ed's. He saw Cameron and his face lit up in a way that made House tighten his grip on his cane. There was something dangerous about it.

He knew that Foreman felt it too, because his body stiffened ever so slightly. He could feel Chase watching the man with distrust as well. At least the men he hired weren't idiots in the non-medical field.

"Allison." She froze momentarily and House saw a flash of terror in her eyes before it was gone. He was half sure that he imagined it.

"Uncle Adam" Was her reply.

"What, no hug?" Cameron moved and gave him a light hug, but he caught her in his arms, and wrapped his body around her in a warm embrace. House could tell that Cameron was uncomfortable and some small things were beginning to fit into place.

"Cameron," House put on his best bored, irritated boss voice. "As much as I love these touching family moments, we have to get going."

Cameron nodded and she turned to say good-bye to her father and Uncle. As she passed Adam, he grabbed her arm and whispered something in her ear that caused her to turn a chalk white and give him a sharp nod but nothing more.

She passed House, and the three men followed her, House's mind clicking away at the new bits of information he had just learned from watching Cameron.

* * *

Moments after Cameron stepped outside, and out of the sight of Adam and Thomas she felt her legs almost give out. She leaned against a wall and took a deep lungful of the Chicago air.

"Does someone else want to drive?" Cameron tried to control her shaking hands. "I need to take a walk to clear my head."

Chase and Foreman were watching her concern, but when she looked up House met her eyes. His mouth was set in a thin line and he shook his head.

"You're not walking around the city by yourself."

"Why?" Cameron snapped. "I'm not five. I can take care of myself. Besides, you're not my keeper."

House watched her with steady eyes and he held out his hand for the keys. Surprised that she had won that fast, she quickly handed him the keys and turned to walk away. She jumped when she felt House's hand on her elbow.

"Not so fast."

He nodded at Foreman and Chase. "We'll see you back at the hotel." The two nodded and went towards the direction House pointed to, and hopefully the car.

They were pretty sure they knew how to get to the hotel and had learned not to question House over the years. Whatever he wanted to talk to Cameron about, they would not get out of him.

"What the hell do you want?" Cameron was desperate to escape. Adam had scared her and she needed to call her siblings and have a good cry. Her stomach was rolling and she was pretty sure soon it would reject the food she had just eaten, and Cameron didn't want to cry, freak out, and throw up in front of him. Especially cry. She hated crying. She tried not to cry in front of people any more.

"I'm walking with you."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Why the hell do you care House? I wandered around the city by myself at night when I was fifteen. The day should be no different."

"But only when Adam was there." House was watching her intently. Her reaction now would answer some more questions he had.

Cameron's face, which had regained a little bit of color, once again went a pasty white and she glared at him. "No. Not only when Adam was there. Adam had nothing to do with anything."

"You're protesting a bit too much Cameron. What did he do to you?"

"Nothing." She turned to start to move away and House grabbed her arm.

"What part of I'm walking with you don't you understand?"

He was relieved to see that she had calmed down slightly from when she looked like she going to puke. Her color was coming back and his distracting questions that didn't get answers had helped a little.

She was smirking at his last comment. "You can't walk. You limp."

"Well then, I want to limp while you walk."

"I could outrun you."

"But you won't" House said simply.

"And why not?"

"Because you're not that mean." He gestured towards her. "C'mon, let's go for a walk. We'll find somewhere to sit and you can answer some questions."

Cameron followed him, but she frowned. "No questions. I have nothing more to say."

The two walked in silence and then Cameron couldn't handle it. She had to talk or she would truly breakdown into tears. As long as she was talking about something else, she wasn't thinking about Adam.

"Breakfast."

"What?"

"Yesterday. Or this morning. Whatever it was. You asked me what I missed the most about the city." She found a random bench and sat down.

Her body was itching for a cigarette to sooth her frazzled nerves. Just to hold one, to have something to do with her hands. She hadn't smoked in years.

Talking to House about something else would help, but it wouldn't be enough. She knew better then to handle cigarettes in front of him. He'd probably steal her cigarettes and mock her for being a doctor and smoking. Especially that _she _'Miss Goody-Two shoes do no wrong' was the one smoking.

"You missed breakfast the most? What, the food here is just so _Chicago_. _Cell Block Tango_ and everything." That got a dry chuckle from Cameron.

"The Cook County Jail doesn't look like that House."

"Ohh. This I want to hear. Why exactly were you in the jail?" His eyes lit up at the thoughts of gossip he could spread around the hospital.

"I wasn't. My Grandfather on my mom's side was a judge. I asked him. He told me that they didn't look like that."

"Only you would ask." They sat in silence for a moment. "So, you were saying. Breakfast?" He prompted.

"Right. When I was a kid, well it was just the four kids and my mom. And PJ when I was 13. They started dating when I was ten. They were friends forever though. He was my Uncle first, but we always called him PJ. So he was there sometimes too." Cameron shook her head.

"Anyway, Matt and I were never in the same school together. When I was six he was fifteen. He had to go to school at 7:30; I was still sleeping when he was leaving. He was a freshman, Nicky was a 6th grader, you get the drift. When we would get home we all had homework and sports and things to do. My mom worked too. She did some talk shows and a new album, and a few small tours. She hated being away from us.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday we had dinner with my father and spent time with him, but that wasn't really talking to my siblings. There were certain things that we just didn't talk about around my father." House raised an eyebrow, but Cameron clearly wasn't going to elaborate.

"Anyway, one Sunday morning my mom came in and woke me up ridiculously early. And when I say ridiculously early, I mean like five in the morning, before sunrise early. And that's how it started." She shrugged.

"Ever other Sunday, we would wake up ridiculously early, pack a picnic breakfast and go and watch the sun rise at the beach while we talked about what was going on in our lives. Rain or shine, snow or sleet. We were there. It was a slightly secluded place by rocks we could sit on. When our mom died we stopped for a little while. Then, we started again. That's what I miss the most. Just sitting there and – _being_ there. Some days we didn't even talk a lot we just took comfort in the other. I never had that at my father's house."

"Why not?"

Cameron didn't answer, just shrugged. "That's an answer for a different day."

The two sat in silence. Cameron had almost forgotten about Adam and his threat to 'fucking kill her after they had some fun if she didn't have dinner with him at least once in the time she was here.' She knew that later the memory would come back in full force as a nightmare. She'd worry about her screams waking House up later.

She knew what he wanted. She also knew what would happen to Shi if she didn't show up. Life sucked. She knew that Shi needed to get out of the house and never return. It was a good thing that she was in her senior year. Already she had started to apply for colleges. She had applied for early admission for Princeton and got in. Although she had never mentioned it her little sister was as smart as a whip. She would probably be crashing at her sister's place for a little while in the summer.

"C'mon." Cameron stood up. "We should get back to the hotel. We both have to get ready for tonight." The two walked off in comfortable silence, House with a million questions about Cameron racing through his head.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

They caught a cab back to the hotel and Cameron called dibs on the first shower. It was 3:30 by then and they had to be at Carmichaels at six, which meant they had to leave at 5:15, not knowing about traffic.

She stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped firmly around her body and nodded towards the shower.

House knew that was his cue and with a sigh stood up to get in the shower.

"Wait!" Cameron dashed back into the bathroom to grab something that she had apparently forgotten. Her towel slid slightly and House got a pretty good look at her back. He could see down to a little above her armpits.

Last night – had it only been last night? She had said that they were from a car accident. The scars that covered her back couldn't be the same car accident. Cameron appeared a hairbrush in hand, completely oblivious to his thoughts.

"Okay, now I'm done." House disappeared into the bathroom.

He showered quickly and stepped out of the shower. Cuddy had forced him to bring nice clothes via Wilson.

He quickly pulled his clothes on and was about to step out of the bathroom when he heard her. She was singing softly, the sound of her ipod playing from speakers that she must've brought with her. She had pulled on clothes to get ready in before she changed into her dress for the night.

"_Do you feel like a man  
when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
as your lies crumble down a new life she has."_

"What are you singing?" Cameron jumped about a foot in the air and spun around to face him.

"Face Down. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus."

"Never heard of them." She shrugged and gestured towards the bathroom. "Are you done? I need finish doing my hair before I get dressed."

"Yeah, go ahead." She disappeared and House went over to go her ipod to look for some music. He paused as he listened to the lyrics of Face Down and started it over. He listened to the song the whole way through before nodding grimly. He'd confront her again tonight, after the stupid dinner.

* * *

"C'mon guys, let's go." Chase, House and Foreman were sitting in the kitchen area playing cards when Cameron appeared.

House could barely keep his mouth from dropping slightly when he saw her.

She wore a simple black cocktail dress that went to about her knees and hugged all of her curves. It had no sleeves, and seemed to tie behind her neck. Cameron had a wrap in one hand and a small handbag in the other. Her hair was down, loose and wavy around her shoulders and her eyes sparkled.

The three stood up and Cameron pulled the keys out of her bag. Foreman had given them back to her after they had returned.

"Someone else is driving. There is no way that I am in these heels." House grabbed the keys from her and gestured towards the door.

"Then let's go." As he walked out the door he heard Chase complimenting her outfit. The Wombat really didn't deserve her. Even if it had just been sex. House clenched his fists slightly, but relaxed them when they stepped into the elevator and Cameron leaned against the wall next to him, giving him a small smile.

They walked to the car and slipped in, Cameron shotgun, because she had to give directions. House could smell her vanilla hair and remembered what it had been like to have her leaning against him to talk to her siblings earlier. He wondered if he would ever feel that again.

* * *

"Spill."

"What?" Cameron looked at House startled.

"We've been in here five minutes and you're already clenched." Foreman and Chase were coming back with drinks and she shook her head.

"Later." _Much, much later, as in never later._

House didn't believe her, but there was nothing that he could do about it.

"Here you go Cam." Chase handed her a glass of wine and she gratefully took it.

"Thanks. When are they starting?"

Just then a woman appeared and grabbed a microphone, seeming to answer Cameron's question.

"Hello, and welcome to the 10th Annual Doctors Convention." There was polite applause, but Cameron zoned out.

_20 Years Ago_

_A 13-year-old Allison walked around the Art Fair with Ellie. Finna, three at the time followed them obediently. They had already taken her down the big slide that was there twice, on the pony ride once, and bought two glasses of lemonade, all with their own money._

_Their father and Gwen were wandering around looking at art, and the two girls at 13 and 16 couldn't care less._

_The next day had been just as bad. They had taken them to another art fair, and the two girls, irritated at being babysitters and doing what Gwen wanted the whole time had accidentally gotten ahead of the other three. _

_Their father appeared, and grabbed both girls by the arm._

"_Why can't you two just for once do something that someone asks of you? Gwen planned this great-"_

"And now if we could all head to the dining room." House was smirking at her.

"Not paying attention _Allie_?" His tone was mocking. Nicky had asked her the same thing yesterday. She had told him in some not so nice words to shove it. She did the same thing to House, who raised an eyebrow.

Her phone began to ring, and the moment was lost. Checking who it was she flipped it open and told them that she would meet them in the room where they were eating. House waited a second and then grabbed his cane and got up. He didn't walk in the direction that the lady had directed them though.

"House! Where are you going?" Chase looked slightly frazzled and House smirked.

"To the bathroom _Bobby_. Is that okay with you, or do you need me to hold your hand?" Chase didn't answer and House looked at Foreman.

"Homie, make sure your bro gets to the room okay. Can't have Cuddy trying to kill me. A'ight?"

"Alright House." Foreman rolled his eyes as House disappeared.

* * *

"It's okay El, I promise. I'll see you tomorrow. Look at Siobhan and make sure she's okay too. Adam's back. She had lunch with us." Pause.

"At Ed's today. Dad almost caught Shi. Adam came in a few minutes after dad scared the shit out of me."

"Dad too." Allison laughed.

"Remind me to thank Shi for breaking into Dad's e-mails. It saved me a world of trouble."

"We're at Carmichael's. Fate hates me." Another pause. "Yeah, you left me here with dad, remember? Fun times. I'll talk to you later. Have fun tonight. I _know_ you will. Tell the guys I send my love. See you tomorrow, love you El, bye." Allison turned and jumped when she saw House standing behind her.

"Whole story my ass." He muttered.

"Would you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Sneaking up on me. We aren't going to pack tonight." House nodded and looked at her eyes deep and probing.

"So, can I hear the whole story now?"

"What whole story?"

"The whole telling your sister you were here and that fate hates you. So, something must have happened here."

"Now is not the time or the place _Greg_." It was clear that she was mocking his early comment of calling her Allie.

"It's always the time. No. Not right now. I don't want to talk about it."

"You never do."

Allison sighed. "It's nothing, really. Just one of the last memories I have here isn't a good one." She moved to go back to the party but he blocked her path. She tried to side step him, but he followed her.

"What are we doing, _dancing_?"

"We're waiting for an answer. There's no way we're leaving until I get one." He took a step towards her, and she stepped back. She hated when people invaded her personal space.

Adam had done that when she was a kid before – well, before everything started. It had freaked her out a little, and ever since then when people had gotten close she had been wary.

"House…" He took another step closer, she took one back. Soon enough he had her against a wall. His body was dangerously close to hers, but his eyes were reassuring her, and Allison didn't feel like she should freak out – just yet.

"Stop asking House, I don't want to talk about it." Her head was tilted up, his mouth a mere inches from hers. It was dangerous, a bad idea and thrilling.

He leaned closer to her. He could feel her breathing. It was a fast but steady pace. He leaned closer and his lips brushed hers once. Electricity jolted through them and Cameron deepened the kiss. It was getting hotter when House's phone began to ring.

He looked at it, cursing Cuddy and stole a glance at Allison. He didn't know why he was starting to think of her as Allison – but the way she was acting seemed more like Allison then conservative Cameron.

Her lips were a bright red, her hair slightly messier. Her eyes were wide, and she was trying to breathe steadily. House wondered if he looked the same. He answered his phone and watched as she disappeared down the hall.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Cameron could barely look House in the eye, but House didn't try to corner her. She had to spend the entire night in the same room as him. He could talk to her then.

They mingled with other doctors, House barely civil to them, but Cameron was there to smooth things over.

Everyone who wanted to talk to House ended up talking to her before he did something homicidal. He was still his snarky self, but everyone knew that it was just the way that he was and not many were offended. And Cameron was always nearby.

She would interrupt politely and smoothly enter herself into the conversation. Everyone was soon charmed by the young, pretty immunologist who worked for the world renowned Dr. House.

They finally got back to the hotel at 11:30. All of the head doctors were pleased that they were mixing so well and rescheduled the earliest presentation for 10:30.

* * *

Cameron walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas and shot House a weird look when she saw he was sitting on her bed.

Foreman and Chase had said their goodnights earlier, and House and Cameron were ready to crash. They had agreed just to have breakfast in their kitchenette and walk down to the first conference. Lunch would depend on how the rest of the day shaped up.

"House, we're not sleeping together, and that's my bed you're sitting on."

"I'm hurt Cam. I thought you loved me."

He smiled slightly to show that he was teasing and she sat down next to him, flopping her body back onto the bed in exhaustion.

"Can we talk tomorrow House? Or whatever you think that we should be doing that caused you to sit on my bed and watch me after a ridiculously long, exhausting day?"

He watched the clock hands change in a comfortable silence and then poked her. Her eyes were closed, breathing evening out. She didn't move and he shook her shoulder until she groaned and her eyes fluttered.

"Okay. It's tomorrow now. Talk to me."

"That's not what I meant. I meant when the sun was up, the birds chirping, ya'know all that happy stuff that you always say I love." She opened an eye, squinting at the light.

"I can fall asleep with all the lights on while you talk to me and harass me, I'm that good and that tired. Let me sleep."

"Why should I do that?" House watched Allison crawl away from him and over to the head of the bed. She slid under all of the covers, shivering slightly.

"You know, it's October. It's okay to wear actual clothes to bed, instead of that tiny, tiny shirt and those really small shorts."

Adam had always forced her to wear clothes that he picked out when he was in town. Usually it consisted of nothing or really baggy clothes to hide bruises from family and friends. Since then, wearing what she wore to bed was an act of rebellion. No matter how cold she was, she was never able to break herself of the habit.

"These are actual clothes. I only get cold when I'm really tired or when I just wake up. And you're not wearing that many clothes either."

It was true, House was only wearing boxers. He hadn't put a shirt on and if Cameron wasn't so tired she would admire his chest and he would make some snarky comment. She would blush and denied looking at him, and he would tease her. Eventually one of them would give in (probably Cameron) and go to bed.

Her eyes were drooping again and she was humming.

"What the heck are you humming?"

Drowsily she began to sing, her voice sweet and beautiful. House smiled at her voice. Richard had been right when he had said that she could sing, even if she denied it.

_"Show me the way to go home,  
I'm tired and I want to go to bed.  
I had a couple of drinks about an hour ago,  
And they went right to my head."_

She smiled and House shook his head and laughed at her antics.

"How tired are you Cam?"

"Seeing my family takes a lot out of me." Cameron was always truthful when she was tired. She forgot that she didn't like to talk about things and made drowsy confessions.

"Are you going to make me talk about my feelings because I kissed you?"

House figured if she was answering about family truthfully he could get a few more answers out of her.

She didn't answer him, and House pulled the blankets away from her body. The cold air hit her skin and she yelped and shook, but answered.

"Will you avoid me and be a smartass about feelings?"

"Probably." House was watching her and she pulled the blankets over her body uncomfortable with his gaze and still cold.

"Then right now let's leave it at you kissed me. It's too early, or too late depending on how you see it to talk right now."

"What about what happened at Carmichael's when you were a kid?"

"My dad was a bastard, as was the wife. They yelled at us and made us cry. It wasn't particularly traumatic, but it always gets to me." Cameron tilted her head toward House.

"Can I go to sleep now?"

She yawned and House felt himself yawn too. He was already in his pajamas and had brushed his teeth and gone through his nightly ritual. His cane was on the other side of his bed, and House was pretty sure that he would get some sleep.

"Only because I'm tired too."

"Goodnight House. We can talk about the kiss tomorrow if you want to, but we're not talking about Carmichael's anymore."

That was what House wanted to talk about. Allison wasn't the type of person someone would yell at until they cried. He knew that she was telling the truth though.

There was no reason to lie about something like that. He knew that he wouldn't get any more information from her, unless he bugged her tomorrow night or asked her siblings.

Allison rolled over under the blanket, curling herself up as small as possible. She looked like a child and House couldn't help it, he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She smiled at him and he brushed his lips once more, gently over hers and stood up. He walked over to his bed and turned off the lights. House fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

_Gwen yelling at her, telling her how she should appreciate them, and then leaving the table, Finna wrappd up in her arms. Ellie running away with some excuse to get away from it all. And Allison sitting at the table who barely cared enough about her to glance her way, but was still furious. _

"_What do you have to say for yourself Allison?" She burst into tears_

**_Time Break_**

_Adam had taken her out to dinner there, 'because he wanted to spend time with his favorite niece.'_

_She knew what that was code for and remembered being forced back to his apartment after dinner at Carmichael's. She had cried, and he had yelled at her, which had caused her to cry more._

"No, please don't hurt me, I'll stop. Please A-" The moment Allison's cry's began House was awake, off of his bed and over to her. She wasn't yelling, her pleas were more of a whisper, but they were filled with heartbreak.

"Cameron, wake up." There was no response and she continued to thrash and beg Adam to stop.

"Allison." There was still no response.

"Wake _up_." This time he began to shake her shoulder and pulled on the blanket that she was wrapped in. Immediately her eyes shot open.

"House?" Her body was shaking and when she finally focused on House he saw that she was crying.

"You had a nightmare." Cameron sat up and brought her legs to her chest before she nodded.

"Figures." Her voice was rough and she cleared her throat quietly.

"You figured?"

"Yeah. I used to get them all the time. I just didn't think that it would be so soon."

House sat on the bed and forced her to scoot over until they were sitting next to each other on Allison's bed.

"So… are we just going to sit here in silence or do I get to be regaled with stories of your nightmare?"

"Go to bed" was her instant reply.

"You said we could talk later in the day. It's three in the morning, that's later."

"Suns not up, and I said no about Carmichael's." House settled into the bed.

"It will help get rid of your nightmare. Talk."

Cameron knew from his tone of voice that she wouldn't get back to sleep until he learned the truth. She went with the simpler story, the one without Adam and his games.

"Ellie was 16, I was 13. We were at my dad's for the weekend and Gwen dragged us to a bunch of art shows. It was ridiculously hot and neither of us wanted to be there. At the second one, we got ahead of them because we weren't looking at the art. We were just walking and talking, being goofs. Well, my dad caught up to the two of us."

Cameron paused, her memory of the past making her sigh and wish that House could have just left it alone.

"He grabbed the two of us and started yelling at us. We were spoiled brats, he never asked us for anything, Gwen planned this for us, and we should appreciate it, the usual kind of stuff. Umm… he was really mad, and he freaked us out, said we better start appreciating what they did for us, told us we were useless and then went back to Finna and Gwen like nothing happened. Well, there was no way that we were going back by them, so we went to the front of the art show and sat by a little sushi restaurant until they were done."

She stopped and took a deep breath.

"My dad came over and saw us sitting on the curb. Ellie had been crying, she was always the more emotional one when we were kids, but both of us were calmer. Anyway, he didn't apologize, just told us we could still salvage the evening by going to dinner. We didn't really have any choice but to agree. So, we ended up in Carmichael's."

House realized how tiny and vulnerable she looked laying next to him and put his hand over hers. She stiffened for a minute, and House was afraid that he had done the wrong thing, but then she relaxed and scooted her body a little closer to his, so her head was on his shoulder.

"Gwen laid into us as soon as we sat down. We were ungrateful little brats who she had tried to put a nice weekend together for and that of we lived with her instead of our mom things would be a lot different. Then she started in on our mom, the way she raised us, and pretty much reduced us both to tears."

Cameron's eyes had gone distant. "She grabbed Finna and left the two of us at the table with our dad. Ellie made up some excuse and dashed out of there so I was the only one sitting there with my dad in tears. He just looked at me and asked me what my problem was, she was right and we needed our asses straightened out. The rest of dinner was silent." House could feel his anger growing for one Thomas Cameron.

"As soon as we were being driven home he apologized for not defending us. Ellie asked why he didn't. He said that it would look bad if he defended us to her in front of us. And that was the end of that."

"You were 13?"

"Yeah." He was surprised that she hadn't started crying, but her voice when she spoke had been so matter of fact, so calm, monotone even.

House could imagine a young Allison sitting there with her sister in tears while her father watched without a care.

"What about Adam?" The moment his name rolled off of House's tongue, she froze and shook her head.

"Nothing happened House."

"Yes, something did."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"I'm going to bed House."

"Not until we talk."

"What is there to talk about?"

"A lot actually. You lied. You told me – you told me that you weren't damaged. That you had never-" House was unable to complete the thought.

"Everybody lies."

"Not you." Not the Cameron he had known before this trip anyway. "Not Little Miss Sunshine."

"You just disproved your own theory."

"Answer the question Cameron."

"No."

"What happened with Adam?"

"You already know." Cameron slid off the bed and was standing now. House followed suit, his height making her look small and vulnerable.

"Tell me."

She spun on him, her hands, her entire body clenched. "He raped me House. Is that what you wanted to hear, huh? He raped me from the time I was fifteen 'til I was eighteen and out of that God forsaken house. And right now he's doing the same thing to Siobhan. That's how she broke her leg. Because he beats the shit out of you if things don't go his way."

His body felt chilled. It was one thing to think it, but another thing entirely to hear her say it. If he saw that man again, it would not end very well for Adam. It wouldn't end very well for Thomas Cameron either. What kind of man treated his daughter like that?

House took a step forward, but Cameron took one away from him. "Stop it House, you got your answers as to why I'm damaged leave me the hell alone."

Her eyes were filled now with unshed tears and House took another step forward. He was faster then her this time and caught her in his arms.

She struggled for a minute and then let herself go and began to cry. House didn't say anything. There was really nothing to be said. No words of comfort and 'it will be okays' escaped his lips. He was her rock and at the moment that was all she needed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Cameron awoke in her hotel bed, but rolled over into a hard, breathing, warm object. She could vaguely remember last night.

She had told House about Adam. Everything after that was a blur. She had cried and he had held her. And then somehow- she couldn't really remember how – he ended up sleeping in her bed.

She chanced a glance at their bodies. To her relief both of them were fully clothed.

"We didn't sleep together in any other way then what we were doing minutes ago. Please unclench."

House's voice drifted over her, and she turned to see him watching her and grinning as he popped a Vicodin.

"I was not clenched." Her voice was indignant.

"You were for a minute. Admit it."

"Never." House laughed.

"You're stubborn."

"Yep. It runs in the family."

"Guys?" Cameron heard Foreman's voice as he knocked on the door. It was thankfully locked there would be _a lot_ of questions if he walked in on them in the same bed.

"We have to leave in like 20 minutes."

"Okay." Cameron yelled to him. "We'll be out in a minute." They heard Foreman move away from the door and House turned back to Allison.

"We're not done talking Cameron."

She stood up and grabbed clothes, walking towards the bathroom to change while she called over her shoulder: "Yes we are. There really isn't anything else to say."

"Yes there is." He held her eyes, and Cameron looked away first, afraid of what she saw in his gaze.

"Fine. We can talk more tonight, but please, try to act like yourself today."

Cameron came out of the bathroom dressed in simple black slacks and a nice button-up shirt. She was brushing her hair and had a toothbrush dangling from her mouth, making her slightly hard to understand.

House rolled his eyes as he pulled his favorite 'Pink Floyd' shirt over his head. He was almost ready, having gotten dressed when she was in the bathroom.

"You don't think I would? Who did you think that I would act like _Chase_?" House asked, although he knew that he would have been sneaking concerned glances at her all day.

House grabbed his cane and walked into the bathroom. He grabbed his toothbrush while Cameron finished brushing her teeth and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Showers would have to wait until later. While House didn't mind missing a presentation he didn't want clinic hours.

"I've told people before, and they've immediately started treating me like glass." Cameron turned and looked him in the eyes, gaze steady this time. "I'm not going to break, I promise."

"I know." House met her gaze until she nodded her understanding. "Let's go eat breakfast and then go to those wonderfully fun filled conferences."

Cameron snorted. "Okay." House was slightly weirded out by how strangely domestic their simple conversation and actions had seemed.

They had woken up in the same bed, had a slightly important conversation while getting ready for conferences (which were worse then work, no patients to harass)

"One question though." She turned back to him.

"Yeah?"

"The scars -"

Allison nodded, knowing his question. "Some were from Adam; PJ had one of the best plastic surgeons make them smaller, others are from the crash that killed my mother."

"PJ knew?" House tightened his hand around his cane in anger. What kind of man knew that his stepdaughter was being raped and didn't do anything about it?

"Stop it House."

"Stop what?"

"You're acting like you're going to suddenly become my Night in Shining Armor. I don't need one. PJ knew. He didn't know for a while though. I was careful. He didn't know until I was gone from that house. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to keep things from people when you're afraid.

No one in my family is an idiot, but none of them were here and I can lie better over the phone. PJ just started coming out here this year. He found out three months ago and Adam's already started to regret some of the things he's done. It's hard to get anything done when his best friend is the police chief in Chicago and his other best friend is a senator in the White House."

She shook her head. House thought of all the information that she had just given him without thinking. Allison had said that Adam had raped her; she hadn't mentioned the 'friend' last night. But, House was smart enough to know that if he asked her about that right now, she would clam up and he wouldn't get the rest of the information she was telling him.

"Adam threatened my sisters. Finna was five when he started on me, Teagan only two. I couldn't let him do that to them. I knew that my dad and Gwen would choose his side over mine. They needed me to baby-sit Finna and Teagan." She dryly chuckled. House didn't know why she found that funny though.

"Adam said that he would blame my accusations on the death of my mother. He doesn't have a record, not even a freakin' parking ticket. Who would they believe? A 'Hollywood Kid' whose mother had just died or him? He told me that if I told anyone, they wouldn't believe me. He was right. So I didn't."

"And Siobhan?"

"What about her?" Cameron was sitting on her bed, her face weary.

"You said last night that he was doing the same thing to her."

"Apparently our deal didn't include his sisters 'accident'." Cameron made air quotes around the word accident.

"She was a surprise I take it?" Cameron rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, something along those lines. I knew that he would start on her, and I wasn't there to stop him." Allison's eyes were filled with self-loathing.

"He told her that he would kill me and Ellie if she ever told dad or Gwen. He wasn't joking when he said that."

House looked at her. Fighting with the reasons that she didn't do anything wouldn't help. He thought of the girl he had met yesterday. She was just a kid. Shi had spoken to him teasingly, acted like life was normal. His heart hurt for a minute as he thought of the two Cameron sisters. They were both damaged in a way that he couldn't fix.

House was about to ask her another question when her phone rang. She glanced at the Caller ID and immediately paled.

"Hello?"

"Yes, this is she."

"Which hospital?"

"Okay. I'll be there soon. Thank you." She hung up and grabbed her purse and shoes. House grabbed her purse away from her, knowing that the keys were in it.

"Where are you going?" She turned to him, face expressionless. Her hands were shaking.

"I'm going to the hospital. It's Shi, she was admitted."

* * *

House was still holding her purse and Cameron tried to grab it away from him.

"Nu-uh. No way. You're not driving like that."

"Like what?"

"You're sister was just admitted to the hospital, I'm not letting you on the road. If you killed someone I could be considered an accomplice."

Foreman knocked on the door again. "Guys, we have five minutes to get there. _Come on_." House walked over to the door and unlocked and opened it.

"We're not going to the speakers today, just you and Chase."

"What?" Chase called indignantly from the other side of the room. "If we have to go, you have to go."

"Siobhan was admitted to the hospital. I'm not going to let Cameron drive herself to the hospital. I have to think of others." House batted his eyelashes at the men and gestured for Cameron to follow him.

* * *

"You didn't have to that you know." Cameron pointed out once in the car. "I'm fine on my own."

"Yeah, but now I get out of watching those idiot doctors." House pulled out of where Cameron had parked last night and followed her directions.

She was silent for a moment. Even though he had said it was to get out of presentations, she knew that he did it for other reasons too, like he cared. He wouldn't have kissed her if he didn't care, right? "Thanks."

"No problem." They sat in a comfortable silence until they were almost at the hospital.

"Do you know what happened?"

"Do I know what happened? No. Do I think I know what happened? Yes."

"Are you going to enlighten me?" Allison shot him a glare.

"What do – no – _who_ do you think happened? Other then the time that Shi cracked her head open when she was seven, and fractured her arm when she was eleven every mark on her has been made by Adam."

"Cracked her head open?"

"Teagan dared her to jump off of the swing at the park the other way then what you would normally do, and she did. It was February, so she slid on some ice, landed hard, and got a gushing head wound that required 52 stitches to sew up."

"That sounds smart."

"Oh, it was great. Teagan was terrified that she had killed her, and had to run home and get me to take them to the hospital because Shi was bleeding everywhere and Gwen didn't see it as a problem."

"Didn't see it as a _problem_?"

"Gwen thought she was a mistake. She didn't really care."

"She didn't _care_?" Even his father, the bastard if a man had _cared_ what happened to his son.

"Nope. Turn here." Cameron's voice was casual.

"You don't sound upset."

"It sucks for Shi, that Gwen doesn't care, but at the same time I can't help but think that she's better off without that woman for a mother."

Cameron directed him down another side street and into a garage. The parked and got out.

* * *

"Excuse me; I'm looking for Siobhan Cameron?"

The nurse didn't even look up. "Room 472. Take a left, and go past two other hallways then make a right. Second door on the left."

"Thank you." The nurse looked up.

"You have to fill out some paperwork first though." Allison nodded. House realized that she had probably done this a million times over for her sister.

"House, you wanna go down and check on her? This shouldn't take more then a minute."

"Sure." House followed the nurses' instructions and found her room easily. Siobhan was awake and looked small and vulnerable in her bed.

"Hey." She smiled at him and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. House got her some water, and held it to her lips so she could take a sip.

"Thanks." She studied his face briefly. "Allie told you."

"Told me?"

"About Adam."

"Yeah, she did."

She smiled gently at him. Her face was a mess. She had cuts on her face that nobody had bothered to clean off. Blood had dripped and dried on her face. With a split lip and bruises she looked like hell.

"You don't understand our reasons for keeping quiet."

House got a cloth and poured water on it. He began to clean the cuts up gently. Siobhan let him, pressing some buttons so that the bed was in a sitting position. He sat next to her, so as not to put strain on his leg.

"I don't. Child Services would have taken you away." His voice was angry, but his hands gentle.

Siobhan nodded. "And I would've been in foster care for three years. After they did an investigation of course and said that I needed to get out of that house. If they thought I needed to get out of that house. Adam's always been very careful, he doesn't leave behind evidence. And any cuts, scrapes that he has – he plays football every Sunday with his friends rain or shine. All easily explainable. And me? Well, I'm a clumsy kid. Ask anyone in my family. It just wouldn't have happened."

"You don't know though."

"Yes I do. And even if it did, they wouldn't have taken me away, they would've taken Adam away. My mother would've been angry. And guess who gets that anger directed at them?"

House didn't answer her. Siobhan shrugged, and then winced as pain shot through her body. "Me. It's a lose-lose situation Dr. House."

"And you chose the one that was worse for you?"

"My parents- I was a mistake." Siobhan's eyes went blank, like Allison's had earlier. She was somewhere else.

"They were there of course. For school conferences and the things you think a parent would go to. Dance recitals, soccer games, but they were never really _there_." She looked at House. He had finished cleaning up her face and realized how young she looked. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah."

"I couldn't risk Adam somehow getting to Allie. Even though my parents were there, Allie was the one who made sure I had a normal childhood. Allie was 15 years old when I was born. Half the time people thought that she was my mother." House let out a snort.

"I would go with her to get groceries, and I would ask if we could get candy or something. And she would be the mother, telling me if I was good, if we had time. I remember once, my mother promised she would take me to the zoo, and she forgot. I was really upset. I was six, Allie was twenty-one. She was home on summer break or something, I can't remember. She promised she'd take me tomorrow. It must've been over 100 degrees out. We stayed the whole day. The zoo was closing, and we were at the other end of it to where our car was." Shi smiled sadly.

"So Allie is carrying me, her purse, a toy that she bought me, and is trying to get to the other side of the zoo. Some guy in a golf cart stopped and gave us a ride. It must've been torture for her to be out there all day, but she didn't break her promise." She looked at him steadily.

"Her and P.J., they were the ones who bought me what I wanted for Christmas, who let me have sleepovers at their house instead of at my house because I didn't want my friends to meet my parents. They were the ones who raised me."

"P.J. didn't have to even know who I was, but he's been here for everything. Whenever I needed him. So you have to understand. Family comes first. And Allie's family. I suffered through what I had to for her, and she did the same thing for my sisters, and if I had been born earlier, me too."

"Shi?" Allison stepped into the room, worry written all over her face.

"Allie."

House watched the sisters embrace and realized that the Cameron sisters had just told him the exact same thing in different words. They would do anything for their family. Anything to save someone from pain.

And, House realized, he wanted to keep the two women in front of him from experiencing anymore of the pain that they had gone through.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As soon as Siobhan was in Allison's embrace, she began to shake. House couldn't tell if she was crying, but whatever had happened to her was hitting her hard.

"I got you; it's okay to let it out." Allison ran her hand through her sister's hair as she fought to gain control over her emotions.

Finally she pulled away and met her sister's eyes. Allison took in Siobhan's beat up face, and sighed.

"What happened baby?"

"They were playing the cry game. I was taking to long to cry, Adam was bored and so were his friends. They dropped me off here afterwards, had me walk in by myself. No one asked what happened yet, that's good. But, I didn't cry at all so," she gestured to her body and Cameron nodded. House watched in confusion. Even though Cameron understood, he didn't. What the hell was the cry game?

"What's the verdict?"

"Well, my cast is ready to come off. Physical therapy for that should be interesting. I have two broken ribs and a bunch of scrapes and scratches. They had me on the ground and kicked me."

Cameron set the bed back into a laying down position. "You should rest Shi. I'll be here when you wake up. If you say you have something to do, P.J. said that you could stay with him for a few days."

Shi nodded. "Will you sing Allie?"

"Yeah baby, what song?"

"What song do you think?" Cameron laughed.

"Just checking." She brushed her Siobhan's hair from her face and began to sing. Her voice was sweet and clear and as she sang Siobhan's eyes drifted shut. House listened carefully, wondering if it would be another song about abuse.

"_Wake up to a sunny day, not a cloud up in the sky  
Then it starts to rain, my defenses hit the ground  
And they shatter all around, so open and exposed  
I found strength in the struggle  
Face to face with my trouble" _

Cameron met his gaze and smiled sadly before beginning the chorus.  
_  
"When you're broken in a million little pieces  
And you're trying but you can't hold on anymore  
Every tear falls down for a reason  
Don't you stop believing in yourself  
When you're broken"_

Broken and damaged, different words can have some of the same meaning. House was starting to unravel the interesting puzzle that was Allison Cameron.

_"Little girl don't be so blue  
I know what you're going through  
Don't let it beat you up  
Heaven knows that getting scars  
Only makes you who you are  
Only makes you who you are  
No matter how much your heart is aching  
There is beauty in the breaking  
Yeah" _

Siobhan's eyes cracked open for the verse like she knew they would. The first two lines had always been true. And the part about getting scars, Cameron was partly who she was because of what Adam had done to her for those years.

_When you're broken in a million little pieces  
And you're trying but you can't hold on anymore  
Every tear falls down for a reason  
Don't you stop believing in yourself  
When you're broken_

_Better days are gonna find you once again  
Every piece will find it's place  
When you're broken  
When you're broken_

_When you're broken  
In a Million little pieces  
And your tryin'  
But you can't hold on any more  
Every tear falls down for a reason  
Don't you stop believin' in your self_

_When you're broken  
Oh When you're broken  
When you're broken  
When you're broken _

By the end of the song Siobhan was sleeping peacefully.

House looked at her. "Never heard that song before."

"My mother wrote it. Right before she died. It was never put on an album." Cameron shrugged. "I used to sing it to Shi all the time, my mom wrote it for me."

House nodded and then looked Cameron in the eyes. "What the heck is the cry game?"

Cameron looked at him eerily calm. "It's a game they would play. See who can get you to cry first by doing different – things. Who ever won got their prize of choice." House understood what she was saying immediately and looked sickened.

"I have to go. Will you stay here with Shi?"

"Where are you going?"

"To stop the mess."

"What?" House demanded sharply.

"Someone has to stop him. He wanted to see me anyway. When we leave, I want Shi coming home with me. I'm not letting her stay with that –that monster." Before he could say anything she dashed out of the door.

* * *

Oh Cliff hanger - I shamelessly stole the song 'Broken' from the movie Broken Bridges. It's not mine. never will be. It's short. Sorry about that. I'm uping the rating to T because I don't know if there will be any more talk of rape, and well, I'm like that. Review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

House rushed out after Cameron. It was a good thing that he was still holding onto the keys. He hoped that she had forgotten that small fact. To his relief she had.

When he dashed out of the elevator seconds behind her she was glaring at the car in frustration. She sent it a halfhearted kick.

"Damnit."

"Foreman's not here, but I'm sure he would help you out." House limped towards her. The keys dangled loosely from his hand. "You are not going to see Adam."

She tilted her chin up and glared at him defiantly. "When the hell did you become my keeper House?"

"When you started acting like you didn't care about your life. Someone needs to look after you. I don't want one dead immunologist."

"I thought we already discussed the fact that you're not my Night in Shining Armor. I can take care of myself. I need to do this."

"No." House cornered her against the car. "You don't."

"I'm not going to stand by and watch Shi get beaten and broken."

"Like everyone did for you?" Cameron glared and shoved him. She didn't care about his leg at the moment. He barely stumbled, and Cameron didn't have anywhere to go.

"You don't know anything House." She saw the keys and lunged for them. House grabbed her, and held her wrists in a vice like grip. It would leave a bruise that was for sure.

"And what exactly do you know _Dr. Cameron_?"

"I know my family. I know why we did what we did. I know how to survive. My childhood was bad House, but it doesn't take a rapist to make it that way. Words and actions can hurt just as much. I know that my father was a bastard with his words, but yours was one with his actions. I know that you think that I need to fix people, but you're really the one who feels the need to make everything better. Otherwise you wouldn't be here fighting with me. But then again, right now, I'm just another puzzle for you to solve."

House saw red. He had called her lobby art, told her that he didn't like her, but she had never been _just a puzzle_ to him.

"Is that what you think?" He spun her around to face him and before she could answer, he slammed his lips against hers.

It was hot, and harsh. The one at Carmichael's had been spur of the moment, tentative and then passionate, but this one was like House was trying to prove something to her. He pulled his lips away from hers, and Cameron stared at him, breathing heavy.

"Why do you keep doing that?" She demanded.

"Well, it stops you from talking. Easy way to win arguments. Plus I like it. And you don't seem to be complaining. You're not just a puzzle and you're not going to see Adam."

"Did I mention that you can't stop me?"

"Want to bet?"

Before Cameron could answer him, her phone rang. "I swear to God -" She muttered.

"Hello?"

"Foreman?" She paused and groaned. "Seriously?" She shook her head. "No, I know a place don't worry about it. We'll be there in a few. Okay, bye."

She hung up and dialed a number. "You don't mind a few extra guests do you?"

"Thanks P.J. we'll be there soonish. Love you, bye."

She hung up again and held up a finger when House tapped his cane impatiently. "This is about the patient in room 472. Could you tell her to call P.J. when she wakes up? Thank you."

Allison turned to House who was watching her irritated. "According to Foreman, a pipe burst in the hotel. Everything is flooded, and all of the water has stopped working. They are closing down the hotel for the time being. We have to go pack. The conference has been canceled and rescheduled. Cuddy said that if we can get a flight back, do it. If we can't, take the next five days to see the city."

"And, pray tell, where are we going to stay?"

"With P.J. of course" was Cameron's reply. "I'll deal with Adam later."

"No, you won't."

"Once again, you aren't my keeper." They continued to argue all the way to the hotel.

* * *

"Home sweet home." Allison muttered.

The men in the car with her jaws dropped. The looming Evanston mansion she pulled up to wasn't what most would consider 'Sweet Home', but Cameron didn't seem concerned by it. She parked the car and got out.

"C'mon. I have to get some rooms ready." She yawned and they followed her obediently into the house, suitcases in tow.

Cameron opened the front door and listened for a minute. "They're upstairs, let's go." She walked up the winding staircase to the second floor. There was a hallway with three doors, all closed. Cameron opened the middle one.

The sound of a piano being played could be heard. Allison rolled her eyes and sighed. She stepped into the room and glared at her brother. Matt, Nick and Ellie were sitting in the room. It was a ballroom, with alcoves in every corner and a grand piano in the middle. There was also a bar and a stage.

"No."

"One song." Matt replied. He was playing the piano.

"No."

"PJ went to pick up Shi." Ellie informed her sister.

"When Shi comes back then, deal?"

"Deal. But we pick the song."

Cameron ignored Matt. "Guys, these are my coworkers Eric Foreman and Robert Chase, and my boss Gregory House, my sister Ellie and my brothers Matt and Nicky."

The siblings caught on quickly as to why she had introduced House to them again and just waved and smiled.

"How is this going to work?" Nicky questioned from his position on the stage next to Ellie. They were tossing a ball back and forth. Ellie lobbed it to Cameron who caught it and tossed it back easily.

"No idea." The siblings paused for a moment. Then Allison and Matt walked over to Ellie and Nicky and the four started an intense whispering conversation. Finally Cameron sighed and nodded.

"I'll go show them, we'll set everything up later." Allison turned back to the three guys and gestured for them to follow her.

"I'll give you the grand tour in a minute." They followed her upstairs, and Cameron paused once at the top.

"Okay. We normally have seven bedrooms, but we already packed up the two guest ones. Shi and Ellie are sharing, PJ gets his own, and Matt and Nicky are sharing. That means that two of you are sharing Nicky's room and one of you is rooming with me."

"I call rooming with Cameron." House called out before anyone could utter a word. "We were already sharing anyway."

Allison rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Fine."

She led them down the hall, pointing out the various closed doors. PJ's room was at the end of the hall, while the two guest rooms were on either side. Allison's was next to one of the guest rooms, Ellie's next to hers. The two girls shared a bathroom in between. One the other side was Nicky's bedroom and Matt's. They also shared a bathroom. Cameron directed them to Nicky's room and pulled out the futon for one of them to sleep on.

Allison's room was painted a lavender House realized when he stepped in it. There was nothing extremely girly about it either. Pictures lined the walls. She had a bunk bed, which House found amusing, but then he realized that she had been just a child. Allison had been only 15 when her mother had died. Cameron's bed was lined with a nightstand. She had two bookshelves and a walk in closet. There was a desk in the corner and a bulletin board above the desk covered in papers. House went to get a closer look at the papers. Most of them were beaming pictures of whom he assumed to be Lizzie Kramer with her four children in various poses and activities. Some appeared to be letters and he strained his eyes trying to read the faded handwriting quickly.

"Hey." He spun around and looked at her guiltily and she rolled her eyes. "Like I didn't expect you to snoop. I'm not an idiot. C'mon, I'm giving the guys a tour. Shi and P.J. should be here soon, and I promised the brothers a song. We have a theatre in the basement, so we'll probably watch a movie tonight."

She didn't mention Adam, but House had a feeling that she would be seeing him with an attempted sneak out. He wasn't going to let her do that. With quiet resolve he followed her.

* * *

The grand tour had the men gaping after it ended. (Cameron had grown up _there_?) The middle floor consisted of the ballroom, a backroom that connected to the stage, and a recording studio. The recording studio had her mothers old record pictures, and copies of every CD she had ever made (12).

The downstairs was a big kitchen that any chef would die to have, a dining room, a library, and a living room. The ceilings were twelve feet, and Cameron had told them that their Christmas trees growing up had always been huge. A hot tub and a patio were outside as well as a massive swing set and an impressive garden. There was no pool, because as Cameron explained, they were in walking distance of Lake Michigan. A five car garage was out back. It was two stories and the top story had been converted into a play area for the kids when they were younger. As they had gotten older they had turned it into a cool 'hang-out zone' for them and their friends.

The basement was what everyone was really impressed with. There was a theatre with every movie known to man (even PJ's newest one that was not yet released), a wine cellar, a sauna, an office and a family room. There was a pinball machine and other arcade games as well as a pool table, a foosball table and a ping pong table. The whole house had five fireplaces, 6.5 bathrooms and was gated. Cameron didn't seem to notice the massiveness of it, but the guys did.

"I grew up here, it was never really a big deal to me" was Cameron's simple reply.

They finished the tour, and were trouping back upstairs when the front door opened. Cameron disappeared down the stairs and reappeared half-supporting her sister. She waved off Foreman and Chase's offers to help her and PJ and the two sat Shi down on the stage.

"You owe me a song Allie." Matt reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He sat at the piano and began to play the opening notes of whatever she was singing. Cameron laughed and began the song. House was surprised when Nick moved over to a drum set that he hadn't noticed and began to tap out the rhythm.

"_Come on  
Oh baby don't you wanna go  
Come on  
Oh baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home Chicago_

_Come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Hidehey  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Oh sweet home Chicago"_

Cameron got up and sauntered over to her coworkers, grinning innocently as she continued the song. Her eyes were dancing, and she pulled on Foreman until he stood and began to dance with her- albeit reluctantly.

_"Well, one and one is two  
Six and two is eight  
Come on baby don't ya make me late  
Hidehey  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home Chicago_

_Come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home Chicago"_

Shi was laughing and holding her ribs. House could tell that they had given her something for the pain because of the dopey smile on her face. Foreman sat down and Ellie joined her sister in dancing, and singing the last few lines. P.J. was shaking his head at the two of them as the giggled. House could tell that dancing and singing was common by the way everything seemed so routine. They had done this before and would do it again.

_"Six and three is nine  
Nine and nine is eighteen  
Look there brother baby and see what I've seen  
Hidehey  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home Chicago_

_Oh come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home Chicago"_

Cameron ended and House, Foreman and Chase clapped.

"I didn't know that you could sing Cam."

She shrugged and offered Foreman an innocent grin. "You never asked."

"If I ask, will you sing another song?" Chase smiled innocently.

"Nope. One was enough."

"Let's go in the basement." Shi suggested. "I can camp out on the couch and you guys can watch a movie or play some games, and then we can order pizza."

The group nodded and all stood.

Neither Forman or Chase had been brave enough to question what had happened to Shi.

House hung back slightly and caught Ellie, who was the last to walk out.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." She paused and met his eyes steadily.

"Allie told you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah. At the hospital today, she said that she was going to see Adam, to make him stop. I'm assuming she's going to try and sneak out of here. I want to follow her, or one of you needs to - to make sure she doesn't do something stupid."

Ellie nodded. "Do you know how to drive a motorcycle?"

House stared at her. "I just told you that your sister is putting herself in danger and you want to know if I drive a motorcycle?"

"It makes sense, just answer the question."

"Yes. Now explain."

"Tonight Matt will take you guys out to see the cars. Don't do anything obvious and just follow his lead. You'll get the keys and the code to get in the house. When Allie leaves you can follow her on the bike. See it makes sense."

House wondered what part of _letting _their sister sneak out of the house instead of just shutting it down completely made sense but he kept his mouth shut.

* * *

And that was how it happened. One minute they were talking about jobs and House made a crack about Foreman stealing cars.

It had led to a conversation about the 1957 Chevrolet Corvette, the 1969 Firebird and the other various cars that they had. They had gone out to see them, and House had asked if he could take out the Harley that was also there.

Matt had let him, and when he handed him the keys, there was also the code to get in the house.

The motorcycle had been left outside when they had gone in for some Chicago Style Pizza, and now House was just sitting in wait for Cameron to make a move.

He heard the rustling of her climbing off the top bunk, and the door opening. House swung his body off the bed. Now all he had to do was follow.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_Earlier that night_

"Allie won't let you help her." Had come out of Ellie's mouth later on that night. She had gone outside to get pizza orders from the rest of the people staying there, and had pulled him aside.

"She's been independent since she knew what the word meant. If you want to save her from Adam, you're going to have to do it on her terms. That may mean not jumping in until absolutely necessary." Ellie met his gaze. "This sounds terrible, but you have to let Allie fight this battle for a little while."

"And why would that be?"

"I'm a physiatrist."

"So she has to fight her own battles because of your job?"

"Would you let me finish a sentence?" Ellie asked, tapping her foot impatiently. House mimed zipping his lips and she rolled her eyes. It reminded him of Cameron.

"I've talked to rape victims before. Hell, that's not the point. I know my sister. She blames herself."

House opened his mouth and she shot him a look causing him to close it immediately.

"The three of us and P.J. developed a system. Two of us would call her. Once in the morning, once in the night. We would ask her if she was okay, remind her it wasn't her fault, talk about normal things, and anything else she wanted. Allie knows what happened wasn't her fault, but there still is that little part of her that believes that she could have done something wrong. She needs to fight him and gain some closure. Because, honestly, Adam has friends in high places. And the chances of them ever seeing him jailed or regretful are entirely too slim for anyone's comfort. That doesn't mean that you watch them the entire time, but the minute Allie fights him don't appear."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

_Present time_

House followed Allison a good distance away from the taxi she had slid into. The drive seemed to take hours, but was really only about twenty minutes. She slipped out of the car and onto the beach.

House could see a shadow of a man standing there. He turned the bike off and limped over to where they were. Luckily for him, one of them had chosen a spot by what appeared to be a tiny hot dog joint that he could hide behind.

"Hello Allison."

"Adam."

"I knew that you would make the smart decision and come see me." He took a step closer and brushed a piece of hair off of her face.

"I missed you baby."

"Stop it Adam."

"Why?" he shot her a lecherous grin and House tightened his fist on his cane.

"You're here for a reason. You don't want Shi to get hurt. So, do what I tell you, and she won't."

"Leave Shi alone."

"Move back to Chicago."

Allison raised her chin and met his eyes. "I will never let you do to me what you used to. I'm taking Shi with me to Princeton."

"G and Tom will never consent to that."

"Why not? They never wanted her." House heard the sound of a smack.

"Don't be insolent Allison, it isn't becoming."

"Leave Shi alone."

There was another slap, and House took a step. He remembered Ellie's words, but he wasn't going to stand there and let Allison get beaten up.

"We're going to go have some fun Allison, and then I'll consider it."

"No. Stay the hell away from me."

House could make out the silhouette of Cameron shoving Adam as he took a step closer. He grabbed her wrists with one hand, and shoved her to the ground. House had enough. He walked the mere twenty feet quickly. He was seconds away when he heard a bone snap and Allison's cry of pain. He saw Adam kick her in the stomach and she yelped.

"Stop it Adam." Adam was crouched over her body as Cameron struggled below him.

"I believe she told you to stop."

House smacked the man with his crane in the back. It wasn't enough to do anything but harm the man, and he rolled over onto his back in pain. In that instant House hit him again, and was soon pressing the cane against his trachea. Cameron scrambled to her feet and looked at House with wide eyes.

"Do you have your cell phone?" She nodded unable to speak.

"Call the police."

"What?" Adam choked out.

House leaned on his cane harder for a second. He didn't want to kill the man – well, actually he did but that's a whole other story.

"Did I say that you could talk?"

Cameron looked up from the phone. She hadn't dialed yet. Her lip was split and House bet that she would have bruises tomorrow. Her broken arm hung loosely, and House was worried that he had damaged some organs when he kicked her.

"You can let him go, he doesn't hit men. Only women after he terrorizes them."

"I'll keep him down anyway."

Cameron looked at him helplessly. House could see it in her eyes. She didn't want to call the police, and he didn't particularly want to deal with them.

In Cameron's mindset, House could see what she was seeing. Her face and past being splashed all over TV, and having to testify against her Uncle and talk about the gruesome things she had gone through.

"Let me tell you how this is going to work Adam."

"I go to jail?" He sneered back.

"Well, I was going to offer you a way out, but if that's what you want to do, be my guest."

House glowered at the man. "You will leave Allison and Siobhan alone. She will come to Princeton with us, and if I ever hear a peep out of you again, you will be sorry."

"What? You'll beat me to death with your cane?"

"Allison does have two brothers, a famous step-dad, me and two co-workers who will come back to you if you ever so much as lay a finger on either of them." House gave him a sharp kick to the groin and leaned harder on the trachea, if that was even possible.

"Do we have an understanding Adam?" He gasped and sputtered and coughed, and House lessened the hold of his cane.

"Yes" he finally choked out and House nodded.

"That's lovely. We're going to go now. If any of the Cameron sisters ever hear from you again, you'll regret it deeply." With those words, House gestured for Cameron to follow him to his motorcycle.

* * *

Cameron had wrapped her arm around him on the motorcycle, and he had gone slowly, not wanting to lose his precious cargo. They pulled up to the house, and slid through the gates silently.

"Let's get you fixed up." Cameron looked at him for a minute and then sighed.

"You're angry." House whirled on her and glowered.

"Of course I'm angry! You could have died." Her eyes were a challenge.

"So what House? Why do you suddenly care? If I'm not just a puzzle, then what makes me so special? I'm just an employee. So, hire a new immunologist. Or are you just upset that you wouldn't have someone who used to like you there to make fun of?"

House took a step towards her, the grip on his can tightening.

"Why do you think that I kissed you Cameron?"

"What?" House took a step closer to her.

"Was it because I thought it was fun? Everybody lies Allison."

To stunned to speak she just stared at him. Cameron lifted her arm and touched his face. She looked so confused and startled that it almost broke his heart.

"I - I" She shook her head. "I don't think that I can do this right now."

"Them when? Next year? Next month? When are we going to be on the same page?" House was frustrated, but Cameron just shook her head.

"Maybe tomorrow. I meant that I'm bruised, bloody and in deathly need of some sort of pain reliever. When I can think coherently would be a good time."

House tilted his head at her. "Do near death experiences always make you snark?"

"If I say yes can we go inside?" House relented as a grimace crossed her face.

"Lead the way madam." With a mocking bow House followed her through the front door, and then all hell exploded.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: God, Heaven, and Hell**

Cameron moved to the kitchen, House trailing behind her. Once in the kitchen, Cameron froze in the doorway and groaned.

P.J., Ellie, Matt, Nicky and Shi were sitting there. Instead of speaking to any of them she walked over to where Shi was and mimicked what she was doing. The two were sitting on stools at the island with their heads resting in their arms.

House limped over to stand by the rest of the family. Ellie raised an eyebrow in a silent question of how things went, but House just shook his head. He would let Allison answer her.

P.J. disappeared for a moment, only to return with a first aid kit.

"Allie." She didn't answer him. "Lee."

This got a groan. "Mmm-pppphhh."

"She said talk to her when she's alive." Shi translated, not lifting her head. Cameron let out a snort. "And give her drugs. Lots and lots of drugs."

House took the first aid kit from P.J. and sat next to her, until Cameron raised her head and looked at him. He merely raised an eyebrow, and Allison scooted off the stool and followed him obediently.

* * *

Once in a bathroom, Cameron hopped onto the counter so House could get a better look at her face, and then her stomach and arm.

"You have to take your shirt off."

Cameron snorted. "I can't."

"You can't?"

She just looked at him and House sighed. He gently pulled her shirt up so that it still covered her breasts, but he could clearly see her stomach.

"We have to go in and get your arm set."

"Why didn't you just take me there first?"

"Because we were on a motorcycle. And they would've wanted to check out your other wounds, which I can do just fine. I am a doctor you know."

"Really? I thought you told Shi that M.D. stood for massive dick."

"It is." House raised his eyebrows suggestively. "You wanna see it?" Cameron snorted and the two sat in silence as House cleaned her up.

"Your face is scraped up, and your stomach is bruised, but we'll get an x-ray to confirm that that's it." Allison nodded and got down from the counter.

"But, first we have to go face _them_."

"Them?" House questioned with a smirk.

"The family of course. Did you think that I was gonna get off light? Although, if we're going to the hospital, they'll yell at me after."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"I'll be in less pain, or slightly loopy. Either A, I'll come up with a good defense or B, I'll be too out of it to even care what they have to say."

House nodded. "Both good choices I guess. Let's go."

"Uh-hu." She disappeared for a second and returned with a hat, which she pulled low over her eyes. It was a beige color and read USA and had the Olympic rings.

"We're making another stop before we come home." House raised an eyebrow, but she ignored him and held up the keys that she had grabbed. "Let's go."

* * *

They went to the hospital, where House grabbed a room and they confirmed that her arm was indeed broken and make sure that Adam hadn't done any damage other then bruise her stomach. They took her cover story – falling off her friends motorcycle while he was teaching her to ride it – at face value.

"Let's go." Cameron had barely said any words, but had seemed deep in thought most of the time at the hospital.

"Go where?"

"I'll give you directions, you drive."

"Yes ma'am." He gave her a smart salute and Cameron mumbled something snarky under her breath.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, House pulled up to a cemetery. Dawn was just breaking, and the sky was filled with various colors of pink, orange, red and blue hues.

Cameron stumbled from the car (both had had nearly no sleep) and House followed when she glanced at him impatiently. Soon enough they were standing in front of Lizzie Kramer's grave.

Allison dropped unceremoniously next to it and sighed. She looked at House, and he understood enough to drop down on the ground next to her. It would hurt him later, but Allison was more important.

"You asked me one time what a man had to do to make me hate him." She turned her face up to him.

"I hate Adam more then I hate any person in the world, even the drunk driver that killed my mom and sent me to that house. I can't believe in God because of him either. I was never really a big believer, we were forced to go to church with my dad, and I had a Bat Mitzvah because Mom was Jewish, but we were never really religious. I can't believe in God because if there really is a God then why wasn't He doing something to stop what Shi and I were going through?" Her eyes were filled with tears, but not once did one fall.

"Where was God when one of us was laying on the ground broken and bloody? On those nights that Adam and his friends almost broke us into a million pieces?"

Her question seemed to be rhetorical and she began to absentmindedly trace the letters on her mother's grave stone.

House read it silently.

_Elizabeth Marie Kramer_

_1946-1989_

_Loving wife, friend, sister, actress, singer and mother_

_"When you think of my life on earth and all those loving years  
Because you are human, they are bound to bring you tears.  
But do not be afraid to cry, it does relieve that pain.  
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain."_

House read the verse out loud and looked at Allison.

"It's part of a poem." House shrugged. He had never heard it before. She began to recite it, eyes sad, and voice quiet.

"To my dearest family, some things I'd like to say…But first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.  
I'm writing this from heaven. Here I dwell with God above.  
Here, there's no more tears of sadness; here is just eternal love.  
Please do not be unhappy because I'm out of sight.  
Remember that I'm with you every morning, noon and night.  
That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through,  
God picked me up and hugged me and He said, "I welcome you.  
It's good to have you back again; you were missed while you were gone.  
As for your dearest family, they'll be here later on.  
I need you here badly; you're part of my plan.  
There's so much that we have to do, to help our mortal man."  
God gave me a list of things that he wished for me to do.  
And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.  
And when you lie in bed at night, the day's chores put to flight.  
God and I are closest to you… in the middle of the night.  
When you think of my life on earth and all those loving years  
Because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.  
But do not be afraid to cry it does relieve the pain.  
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.  
I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.  
But if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.  
But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is o'er.  
I'm closer to you now, then I ever was before.  
There are many rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;  
But together we can do it by taking one day at a time.  
It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too…  
That as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.  
If you can held someone who's in sorrow and pain,  
Then you can say to God at night… "My day was not in vain."  
And now I am contented… that my life has been worthwhile,  
Knowing as I passed along the way, I made somebody smile.  
So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low,  
Just lend a hand to pick him up, as on your way you go.  
When your walking down the street, and you've got me on your mind;  
I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.  
And when it's time for you to go… from that body to be free,  
Remember you're not going… you're coming here to me."

Allison finished the poem and brushed away the tears that had started to fall.

"Sorry…"

"Hey." House caught her chin in his hand and met her eyes. "I'm the cold hearted bastard, remember? You can have emotions."

Allison smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. House stroked her back, and could feel her shoulders shaking as the emotions of the day finally caught up with her.

He didn't say anything, just continued to stroke her back and hang on to her. After all, there was nothing to say. He couldn't tell her that everything would be okay, and he couldn't apologize for something that he couldn't control. Her mothers death, Adam, the pain she was probably feeling.

Allison finally pulled away from him and found a rock and put it on the headstone. At his weird look she shrugged.

"It's a Jewish tradition. We need to be getting back now. They need to find out what happened and we need to figure out a cover story for Chase and Foreman." House let Allison stand and then pull him up after he popped a couple Vicodin. She didn't say anything, but House could clearly see the worry.

"I'm fine, I promise." In a very unHouselike gesture he kissed her forehead and took her hand as they walked out of the cemetery.

* * *

By the time that Cameron and House finally made it to the house, Foreman and Chase were awake. They were sitting at the kitchen table talking to the family and drinking coffee.

Allison saw them, walked in and collapsed next to Shi, taking her earlier position.

Foreman and Chase both looked at her in concern. Foreman had spotted the cast, and opened his mouth to say something, but Shi interrupted him with a grin.

She was looking at Chase who was staring at Cameron with an expression on his face that made House want to slap him. Chase had better stay away from Allison.

"Hey mister" Chase looked at Shi "she's my sister."

Nicky rolled his eyes, but sang out:

"So, that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad  
Three soy burger dinner, two tofu dog platter  
And one pasta with meatless balls."

Matt wrinkled up his nose. "Ew."

"It tastes the same" P.J. pointed out.

"If you close your eyes." Ellie sniggered.

Nicky sang the next line, hopping on to the counter:  
"And thirteen orders of fries  
Is that it here?"

The Cameron children looked at each other, laughed and responded "Wine and Beer!"

Shi paused a moment and then spun to look at Foreman. "You can ask your question now."

"Cam? What happened to your arm?"

House froze, but none of the family members seemed concerned.

"It's all P.J.'s fault." She mumbled propping her head in her good hand.

"Why is it always my fault Lee?" He asked playfully. House relaxed slightly. They seemed to know what they were doing.

"Because you were the one chasing me."

"Chasing you?" Chase repeated.

P.J. rolled his eyes good naturedly. "That's what you get for running on wood floors in socks."

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Is somebody going to stop them?" Foreman asked watching the two lobby back and forth.

"_CHILDREN!_" Matt intoned in a high-pitched womanly voice. "The two of you need to stop arguing! I swear to God every time the two of you get together -"

Allison was staring at him in a mixture of amusement and horror. "What are you, my mother? Who's Jewish? And from New York?" My Jewish mother from New York?

"Well, I always wanted you have a doctor in the family." Matt kept up the voice. Allison started laughing, and buried her head in her hands.

"We all know perfectly well that Lizzie wasn't from New York," P.J. shook his head.

"And didn't talk like that" Ellie pointed out. She was grinning, eyes dancing.

"So how did you break your arm?" Foreman repeated his question still confused.

"I was running from P.J., I slipped and this is the end product." Cameron lifted her arm and House was grateful that she had put cover-up on in the car. Her arm she had lied about with a scary ease, but the handprints on her face were different.

Foreman raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "I've done it before. When we were at my dad's one year for Thanksgiving I was running from Finna, I slid on the hardwood floor, crashed into a table and bruised my ribs."

"Took you about two weeks to get to the doctor though."

"Well, it was hard to convince Dad that I had actually hurt myself." Allison rolled her eyes, but House could see the hurt there.

"Dear Tom," Ellie started calmly "there was a tragic accident involving Allie and that stupid table that you bring up for holidays. She died. Funerals tomorrow, can you come?"

The Cameron children sniggered, Shi holding her ribs. House turned to his other two ducklings. "Is anyone else confused?" They both nodded, but P.J. just shook his head.

"They won't explain the letters to you until they feel like it. You learn to deal." The Cameron's were still giggling and House caught Allison's eye.

She shrugged in an 'I'll explain later' gesture. People may not have found their sense of humor funny, but it was who they were. Their defense mechanism to death, dying, and any sort of injury was making it funny. Even the stupid little injuries got letters.

Would the uncaring be there? Would they suddenly pretend to care? To hide their hurt, they would write 'letters'. They would start off with the tragic way the person had died (rolling down a hill, forgetting where the brake on the scooter was, rolling up the car window while someone's body part was hanging out, etc.) and end with 'funeral's tomorrow can you come?'

Over the years, the Cameron's had met people who didn't think that the letters were funny, but the closest friends just rolled their eyes, shook their heads and at times contributed to the wacky letters.

P.J. glanced at his watch. "You know, if we leave in 15 minutes, we could probably beat the Wishbone brunch rush."

At those words, the five of them were up and grinning in delight. Allison grabbed House by the arm and tugged at him to follow her as Matt and Nicky each grabbed Foreman and Chase.

"Let's go."

* * *

"So, do you want to tell me what that was about?"

"What was about?" Cameron struggled to get her shirt over her head.

She was wearing a bra, and was too tired to care if House saw her in just that. Allison had already changed into jeans, and now was just struggling with the stupid t-shirt.

She was debating going and enlisting one of her sisters to get it off when House walked over to her and gently pulled the shirt over her head.

That got a tired smile and she decided to answer his question. "When I was – God, about six or seven – we went on vacation. My Mom had just gotten me a new scooter." Cameron smiled at the memory.

"Anyway, we were surrounded by a bunch of hills, and Matt dared me to go down one of the bigger hills on my scooter. So, I agreed and go flying down the hill. I got to the bottom, where it turned into a gravel road and didn't brake. I wiped out going full speed. Gravel embedded in my skin, blood, quiet a few scrapes." She shrugged. "Matt's favorite part of the story is that the second after I fell, all four of them tearing down the hill I jumped up and yelled 'I'm okay'."

House let out a soft laugh. "Only you."

She shrugged. "The letters started after that. I asked Mom if Dad would be at my funeral. She told me that she would write him a letter."

House stared at her. "That's an interesting perspective to have."

"Eh. Well, it's the only one I got." Cameron shrugged. House leaned forward and captured her lips gently. She kissed him back just as gently and then pulled away when there was a pounding on the door.

"C'mon guys, make out later." House raised an eyebrow and Allison shrugged.

"She's joking." Allison pulled a shirt over her head and grabbed a pair of clogs before taking her purse and turning towards the door.

"Are you going to ask me why I did that?"

"Are you going to tell me?" was her pointed reply.

House gave her another gently kiss and smiled. "For being you. Now," he opened the door for her "tell me about this Wishbone place."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The group trouped outside and paused in front of the two cars parked out front.

"We're going to have to split up." Matt pointed out.

Allison, Shi, and Ellie all grouped together, Shi pulling on House's arm so he was standing with them.

"El, you're driving."

"Why?" she demanded crossly.

"Because I said so." Shi grinned at Allie's reply. The two of them were heavily medicated and House had no idea where he was going, so the answer was actually quite obvious. The men sans House had already climbed into their car with no protest.

"Can we go?" House asked the three sisters. "I'm hungry."

They all sighed and rolled their eyes in perfect unison but got in the car. Shi rode shotgun and Allie and House were in the back.

Soon they were speeding into Chicago music blaring. Nicky was driving in front of them and Ellie pulled up next to him for a second so the girls could childishly stick their tongues out at him as they passed.

"Wow. Aren't all of you adults?"

"So?" Allison grinned at him eyes dancing.

"We're always children in Chicago anyway. We can't help it." Ellie turned onto a side street and parked, cursing under her breath.

"Nice." House commented hearing her swears.

"I thought so." Ellie replied. She shut off the engine and paused at the onslaught of oncoming cars, not wanting to open her car door and have it get hit.

"So…" House regarded the three women in the car. "You" he pointed to Ellie. "Swear like a sailor. But you" he pointed at Allison "don't. And you-" Shi looked at him. "Barely speak at all, so I can't really say what you do. What's up with that?"

"Family life style" Ellie replied. "Even though we're all related I lived with my mother and had the most normal childhood out of the three of us. Allie was stuck there for four years and had to follow their rules and was also surrounded by small children. Shi was pretty much considered invisible."

"It was fun though." Shi commented. They got out of the car and headed for the rest of their group. "I never had to spend a lot of time with them." Allison shook her head and stepped inside Wishbone.

House looked around the building in surprise. It was big, but was painted warm colors and he had to do a double take when he saw some of the paintings.

Allison caught his surprised look and smiled. "The paintings always catch everyone's eyes."

Indeed, it was true. They were of different animals, mostly farm. There was one of a chicken with eggs as clouds while he was laying eggs into what appeared to be water. Another was of a dog and a – cow? He wasn't sure what the other one was under an apple tree with a snake, which House could only figure to be a representation of Adam and Eve.

"Interesting."

She smiled at him. "We used to practically live at this restaurant."

"What happened?" Allison gestured for him to walk with her as they followed a star-struck server to their table.

"Finna was born. My dad used to have an apartment here a few blocks away. When Finna was born they decided that she needed a back yard and that they city wasn't where they wanted to raise a child or something." House watched Cameron as she spoke. Her voice was clear and devoid of emotion, but he could see the bit of hurt that her eyes held.

* * *

Over brunch the group had a great time. The girls focused their attention on Matt and Nicky and mercilessly teasing them, while Foreman and Chase were taunted by House with Cameron interrupting from time to time.

They were standing up to leave when _it_ happened. Siobhan and Allison immediately tensed in a reaction he had seen before at Ed's. Ellie winced and Matt and Nicky sighed. Allison and Shi subconsciously moved closer to P.J. and their brothers.

House recognized the man as her father, but not the woman he was with. House watched as he greeted his children with hugs and bright smiles. Even when he saw Allison his eyes didn't seem as cold. The woman standing next to him wasn't smiling.

"I wonder how many mimosas it took to get her out of bed today." Allison muttered under her breath. She was standing next to him and Shi.

"With or without the orange juice?" Shi sassed back just as quiet.

"Dunno. It wouldn't be a mimosa without the orange juice."

"So? She could just add without the orange juice in her head and tell everyone that she had a mimosa for breakfast."

"And add a mimosa plus two or three without the orange juice in her head too?"

"Yeah. That's how it goes." Shi nodded. House looked at the two of them.

"I'll explain in the car." Allison smiled at him. "I have to go be nice, excuse me." With some jostling around by movement of siblings House ended up next to P.J.

"Wasn't this he same man who could care less about Allison when we went to Ed's?" House was sure to keep his voice down, and he surprised himself slightly by using Cameron's first name out loud, but he wanted to know the answer.

P.J. nodded and smiled. "Thomas has always been competing with me for father of the year."

"What?" House looked between the men.

"When Allie was born -" P.J. sighed.

"He didn't want her really. He had his sons and his daughter and his affair, and everything was great for him. I was always the one Allie went to for advice or help, or any stuff that she wanted to talk about. He didn't want her, but he didn't want me to have her. Same goes for Shi, which I can maybe understand more, because she's my dead wife's ex-husbands daughter. So, when he sees one of them with one of the older siblings or me, he suddenly acts like he was Daddy of the Year. Allie's my little lost girl. Shi too, but not as bad."

"Little lost girl?" House raised an eyebrow.

"Psychiatrist term. Allie grew up attempting to be invisible. She was always the one sibling you could find after a fight. She would be off in her room 'thinking' or reading. Allie hated being drawn into reality and she didn't bother to get upset when something happened. If she was disappointed or if someone had forgotten something she acted like it didn't matter anyway. She was always the shy one. One of the things she used to tell me is 'if you don't trust you don't get hurt'." P.J. shifted from one foot to the other watching the small family reunion.

"Tom made Allie see a psychiatrist after her mothers' death. This is what she said. Some of it's not off the mark that much. The psychiatrist also made the other siblings come in once or twice. She labeled the four of them. Ellie is the good child, the one who all the praise was thrown upon, the" here P.J. made air quotes "'hero'." House could see Ellie nodded and he could see her father talking to her animatedly.

"Matt and Nicky are both the mascot. The ones who are always making everyone laugh, making sure that the attention is on the laughter not on what was going on in their lives." House turned his attention to the brothers who were laughing, and at one point tickling Shi.

"Allie and Matt are both problem children because Allie is the scapegoat, and Matt is the only one who ever really will speak the absolute truth. Allie is the caretaker, which means she looks after the emotional well being, which they all do actually, but Allie looked after the physical well being of the younger ones too. She made sure that they were all fed and dressed and had their homework done, and anything else a mother would do. And, she's my little lost girl, the one who's always hiding." House could see that in Allison Cameron.

Quiet and nice Cameron was, but there was the underlying stuff that House had never really thought about. She had never been the one talking too loudly or trying to upset anyone. She brushed off emotional pain or hid it until she was by herself.

Apparently the 'hellos' were over and Cameron appeared back next to him, face calm and emotionless. "Let's get out of here."

The rest of the family followed out, and House watched Cameron, P.J.'s words still ringing in his ears. He thought that he knew how damaged she was, but all of this went beyond anything he ever could have dreamed up.

* * *

After the trip to Wishbone, Foreman and Chase opted to see the city while House went back with the family.

They had dropped Chase and Foreman off at Navy Pier and given the two of them directions on how to get to the Sears Tower, Hancock Building, Water Tower and Millennium Park.

The group that was going back to the house was going to meet them at the House of Blues at seven.

"What do you guys want to start with?" Nicky questioned once they got in the house.

"We have to pack up our respective rooms, but that will be last." Ellie volunteered.

"Right." Matt nodded. "Start with the basement and work our way up?"

"We have to do our room in the garage too." Allison said.

They were in the kitchen again, sitting down and talking. It seemed to be the place that they always met at House realized.

They all seemed content in it and had taken their positions from earlier when the two of them had come back from Adam.

"We can do half and half if we want to." P.J. offered.

"Nah. We'll try and finish the basement today because the garage is full of as much stuff that we'd want as our rooms are." Nicky replied.

Shi sighed. "Okay, then let's start."

"How do we start?"

"Well, we can't do our rooms, the kitchen, or the theater. Bathrooms are pretty much cleaned out." Matt rubbed his forehead and Allison sighed.

"So, basement office, wine cellar and all the amazingly cool games down there?" P.J. offered.

The group thought about it for a minute before shrugging and nodding.

* * *

House sat in the wine cellar with Cameron, Shi, and P.J. watching them go through all the alcohol. It may have been called a wine cellar, but there was more then wine and they were debating who to give what to, if they could give some away as holiday presents and what to use while they were all together.

He felt his phone vibrating and saw SUPER BOY WONDER on the outside. House grabbed his cane and limped out of the earshot of the family.

"Hey."

"House, I've been trying to reach you for days now, why weren't you answering your phone?" In all truth House had been worried about Cameron and too busy tailing her to pay attention to his phone.

"I didn't want to talk to you. This unrequited love you have for me Jimmy has got to go."

"I'll get right on that House. Cuddy said that Foreman called and told her not to worry about you guys, you were staying with family. The call was lost and he didn't say whose family."

"Cameron." It felt weird to say Cameron. He had been wandering around for days thinking of her as Allison.

"You've spent at least a day with her family and you haven't called to tell me? Did you unravel your puzzle yet?"

Yes, he had. The sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach was back with that question. He had figured out his puzzle. Cameron wasn't a puzzle that was meant to be solved. She was sweet, but sour and broken into a million pieces that people had picked up and somewhat messily glued back together.

Yet, she still managed to have a naïve, innocent air about her that shocked him now.

It reminded him of a present he had gotten one year as an intern. He had treated a kid, and his parents had been missing, so he had stayed with the kid. Later on, the kid had made him a sloppy heart with 'thank you' written on it.

The heart had been crookedly cut out. There were sparkles on it, and the kid had out too much glue on it, causing it to rip. It had been wet and sticky but held together precariously. That was what House associated with love. It was a sticky mess. That was the way Allison's heart was.

"House?"

"What?"

"I asked you if you solved your puzzle yet."

"Yeah." House couldn't bring himself to say anything besides that.

"That's all you're going to tell me? I don't even get insight on who is Allison Cameron?"

House thought of the articles he had been able to get off of his computer when he googled Lizzie Kramer.

He had found the pictures that had been splashed across magazine covers after her death. Allison had literally been a child standing there covered in blood. He had seen other articles, one which stayed in his mind, right behind the one about Lizzie's death.

It had been an interview with Lizzie right before she had married P.J. the interview had been done at the house, and about halfway through Allison had burst in home from school. Allison had been ten, the only one still in grade school.

The author of the article had described her as 'an girl with an innocent yet playful nature who was raised right even with the cloud of her mothers star status hanging over her head.'

There was a picture of Allison and Lizzie included in the article. Allison was standing behind her mother, arms wrapped around her neck bright smiles pasted on both faces.

House had felt his heart break a little for the girl in the picture. She was innocent and sweet, only half way to her 'lost child' status that the psychiatrist had given her.

"Nope. I'm not going to tell you the puzzle. I'll give you a hint though, because Foreman and Chase will spill once we get back to PPTH. You tell any of the nurses and your wives will have a lot more to complain about then the fact that you can't keep your pants up. Actually, a lot of New Jersey women will be feeling your pain when you can no longer get it up."

"House-"

"_What?_" He snapped.

"You like her."

"Haven't we already had this conversation Wilson?"

"Yes. You like her. If you didn't like her you wouldn't be threatening me with bodily harm, you would be telling me all you found out."

"Think Kramer. Google it for all I care. Can't talk now, places to go people to see." House hung up before Wilson could psycho analyze him anymore. If he told Wilson that he liked Allison he would have to sit through hours of 'I told you so's', threats from Foreman, jealous looks from Chase, smirks from Cuddy and the general gossip of the nurses.

If anything happened – and at the moment he was waiting for Allison to tell him that she was ready to talk – it would not be something that was broadcasted all over the hospital.

He heard footsteps and turned to see Allison standing there holding a box with bottles of wine in it.

"Hey." Her voice was soft, and her eyes were warm. "I have to go put this upstairs and then-" she paused and took a deep breath. "I think I'm ready to talk about us."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Allison led the way up to her room, House closely behind. Once there she dropped onto the bottom bunk.

Her bunk bed had a bigger bottom bunk that could turn into a couch, which it was at the moment. House sat down next to her and she leaned her head back on to couch in exhaustion.

The two sat there for a few minutes in a tense silence.

"How'd we get so screwed up?" Her voice was soft.

House couldn't help but laugh. She was right about how they were screwed up. The tension broke and she smiled at him and let out a laugh.

"I actually have no idea." His hand began to trace random patterns on her leg. "We'll just say that unrequited love is the best kind of love."

"Liar."

"Everybody does."

Allison laughed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"It's true."

"Whatever you say." Allison shifted slightly and House paused for a moment in his random patterns afraid that he had done something wrong, but all Allison did was rest her head on his shoulder.

"So, are we going to talk?" He asked tentatively.

"I dunno. Are we?"

"You can't answer my question with a question."

"I didn't I answered your question and then questioned you."

"But you asked me the same question."

"So?" House refrained from childishly spitting out _sew buttons on your underwear_ back at her.

"You can't do that." He replied instead.

"Says who?"

"Says me." She smirks and House places a gentle kiss on the hand that had moved to hold his.

"I say-" she paused and sighed. "I say we see where this goes and just try and figure it out ourselves."

"And keep it between ourselves?" House mentally crossed his fingers. The whole hospital didn't need to know about their love life.

How their relationship played out would also affect their job.

"Mostly." She nodded.

"Mostly?"

"The second I walk out of this room my family will figure it out."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. That's what they're for." House continued to stare at her and Allison shrugged. "The family" She recited.

"We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. Erma Bombeck."

House laughed. "I can see your family doing all of those things."

Allison grinned back at him cheekily. "And more. We were terrible on some days."

"Just the five of you?"

"Nope. We have P.J. and Mom. And Maggie and Richard. Finna and Teagan joined in sometimes too."

"What about your dad?"

Allison tensed and her eyes shot to her desk for a half a second, which House caught. "Not usually. He had better things to do. Maybe-"

She paused hesitant. "Maybe we should talk again when we get back to Princeton, and decide it we want to tell Cuddy, just so she knows and can heed off anything that may happen because of the two of us." She yawned and House pulled away gently.

"Okay. Why don't you get some sleep?"

"M'kay." He let her lay down and covered her with a blanket. By the time he reached to kiss her forehead she was already sleeping.

House went to her desk. She had obviously wanted something from there, but didn't want him to know, and now he was curious.

There were two drawers on each side of the desk and then one in the middle, long and thin. House started at the bottom and worked his way up.

The bottom drawer on the right was filled with markers, crayons, colored pencils, and an assortment of writing utensils and things you would use to decorate school projects.

The bottom drawer on the right was paper. Colored paper, sketch paper, lined paper. All were blank.

He opened the top drawer on the right and found scrapbooks that she hadn't been able to fit on her bookshelves. There were eight of them, if he counted right. He pulled one out.

'Camp 1983'

The pictures are of Allison and her friends. She was a cute kid. House did the calculations in his head. She would've been about nine. The next seven albums are of Allison getting older each year at camp.

It would interest him on a normal day, but House was more concerned about what she wanted when he mentioned her father.

The next drawer was notebooks. He opened the one on top and realized it was her writing, girly gs and all. They weren't school notebooks but notebooks that were diaries. The one he was holding was from when she was eighteen. He thumbed through it and realized that most of it had to do with Adam.

She mentioned normal kid stuff, but also, she would mention what had happened that day and what he had done to her. House put the diary/notebook away before he got angrier then he already was (he should've killed Adam that day at the beach) or got sick because of the writing.

There were other things, letters from friends and family in the drawer too.

The final drawer was what he would have called a 'crap drawer'. There were random pieces of paper, pens and a bunch of other little things that constituted to him as 'crap'.

House searched in the drawer, and pulled out a letter folded in half. It was addressed to 'Al'.

Al-

Found this poem the other day and thought of you. Couldn't not send it. You'll find it funny but half the others probably won't,

'Razors pain you;  
Rivers are damp;  
Acids stain you;  
And drugs cause cramp.  
Guns aren't lawful;  
Nooses give;  
Gas smells awful;  
You might as well live.  
Dorothy Parker'

I'll see you Friday at our usual spot, right? Try and call me if you can't.

E

House stared at the letter for a long time trying to figure out who 'E' was. He out the letter aside and continued his snooping. Before the day was done, he would figure it out.

Ten minutes and a bunch of crap later, House found what he was looking for. Allison had expertly hidden a pack of cigarettes and a lighter under her desk with magnets.

He took his loot, not including the letter and disappeared down the stairs.

* * *

House appeared downstairs, and went to the kitchen where the family – as he had found usual – had all gathered.

Ellie saw him and grinned. "I've always wanted a non-annoying family member."

House shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not exactly family."

"She calls everyone she likes family." Nicky explained. "You get used to it. And even if you and Allie don't work out, we like you enough to be considered family anyway."

"You've known me for about two days."

Shi turned to look at him. "So? We're fast choosers." There was determination in all of their eyes, and House didn't see a reason to argue with them. Instead, he tossed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter on the table and raised an eyebrow.

"Allie smokes when she is really, really upset. She started when she was eighteen, quit when she was twenty-one. Whenever you have an intense conversation in her room, her eyes automatically go to where the cigarettes are."

"Check the pack." Matt said. "There should be eight left." House did that and raised an eyebrow at the man.

"There are always eight. There have been for years. Allie just keeps the cigarettes 'just in case' but she's never used them."

House shook his head. It was a weird family, but they seemed content with who they were. He stayed down there and talked to them for another hour.

* * *

The sound of footsteps stopped the debate about the best Pink Floyd song House was having with Ellie.

"Hey Allie." She smiled at her family and rubbed her eyes with her fists tiredly.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour and a half. We should be leaving for House of Blues in about another hour."

"Okay." She surveyed the kitchen.

"Where's Shi?"

"She went to shower."

Ellie was dressed and ready to leave. "Yous be next."

"Yous?"

"Yep." Matt grinned at his sister. House was watching the two of them. Shi came down and shook her head.

"So who won the argument?"

"I did." Both people replied at the same time. Allie looked between Ellie and House.

"What argument?"

"Which Pink Floyd song is the best." Allison shook her head. Ellie caught her eye and grinned.

"Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister."

It seemed to mean something to Allison, because she laughed at her. "And Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man."

Nicky saw House's confused look. "White Christmas?" He shook his head.

"Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, RoseMaggie Clooney and Vera-Ellen." Shi explained. "It's a classic. We'll watch it tonight. It's like a sin or something in this family to have never seen the movie."

"We'll ask the guys if they've seen it when we see them. We'll make it a movie party."

Allie shook her head. "I'm going to shower." She turned to glower at House, something catching her eye. "You stole my cigarettes." Allison grabbed his arm and her cigarettes and left the room.

House steeled himself for her scolding. Maybe, just maybe he would find out who E was too.

* * *

Allison slipped onto the bottom bunk of her bed and wrapped her arms around a pillow.

"Thought you were showering." House sat down next to her.

"When you go through someone's things, next time you should be more careful if you don't want them to find out." Allison nodded to the letter sitting on her desk.

"Not unless you have questions about the things you found while snooping and are hoping to get answers. You would have figured out I was snooping anyway, so what was the point of putting it away?"

"I dunno. Ellie always knew that I read her diary" Her sharp eyes caught his. "– I'm assuming you found those too." House didn't answer, but the look in his eyes said enough. "Anyway, she knew that I read it, and she would move it, but I would always find it. It was almost a game that we used to play. She knew, but I would put it back anyway. It was almost a game."

"But I'm not you, or your sister." House argued. He tugged on Allison until she leaned against him.

"I would be concerned if you were. That would mean I would be either dating my sister or myself." They sat in silence for a little while.

"So, are you going to tell me about the letter?"

Allison shifted a little. "It was from Ethan." She finally mumbled.

"Okay. So E is Ethan, you're Al. But Ethan is-?" House waited, hoping not to hear that he was an old boyfriend. If she kept that note, they were probably close.

"Was."

"Was?" Her body tensed and House stroked her hair.

"I told you that I fell in love when I was in college." Her voice was a whisper. "Everyone assumed that I met him there. I didn't. He was my next door neighbor until Mom died and I moved."

_26 Years Ago_

_Allison Cameron sat on the steps of her front porch with Ellie. They were waiting for some sort of surprise that their mother had for them._

_Although both girls had chalk and were playing hang-man and tick-tac-toe, they were more focused on the moving van sitting in front of the house next door._

"_You two could just go over there and introduce yourselves." _

_Elizabeth Kramer sat on the front steps, and grabbed a piece of chalk filling in the words **I wish the surprise would get here already** in Ellie's hangman box which read I wis e su ise wou get ee already _

"_You took my guess Mom." Allison replied accusingly, instead of talking about what Lizzie was. _

"_Sorry baby." Movers had been in and out of the house all day, and both girls were watching in excitement. The family had yet to show and it was almost dinnertime. Based on the furniture they had been making guesses all day. _

_A car pulled up and stopped in front of the neighboring house. Lizzie sat down and both girls perked up._

"_So the last bets were?" She asked her two daughters._

"_I have ten bucks on a boy and two girls, the boy being the youngest and the parents being divorced, and the wife got a lot of money when they settled." Allie replied, her chin now in her hand. "Ellie has ten bucks on two boys a girl, the girl being in the middle, and one of the parents just died and the other made a lot in insurance money. Said alive parent is hoping to start fresh and has moved."_

"_Where do you girl come up with these ideas?" Lizzie asked shaking her head._

"_P.J.'s movies" Allie replied cheekily as Ellie sang out "the tabloids."_

"_What am I going to do with you?" Lizzie stood up and went to greet the new family as two children – a boy and a girl stepped out of the car with both of their parents._

"_Looks like neither of you win." She walked down the driveway and out the gate, typing in the password. _

"_Welcome to Evanston." The group of four turned to look and surprise lit their faces when they realized that they were living next door to Elizabeth Kramer. "I'm Elizabeth Kramer – but you can call me Lizzie. These are my daughters Ellie and Allie. My sons Matt and Nicky are at soccer practice right now."_

_The woman took the hand that she offered. "I'm Margaret Moore but everyone calls me Maggie. This is my husband David and our two children Ethan and Rebecca." Allie and Ellie offered shy 'nice to meet yous' to the Moore children._

"That was the first time we met." There was more to the story, but House wanted to distract her for a second, he was also very curious.

"What was the surprise?"

"Oh." She looked startled. "P.J. was in town. He had just wrapped up a movie and stayed with us for a little. We always loved when he came to visit, still do." House nodded. "You haven't asked me what happened next yet."

"I figured I'd ask tomorrow. Or bug a sibling."

"I'd rather tell you now and get it over with."

_18 years Ago_

_The room was slightly darker then it would be on a normal day, the house was oddly silent and Allison reflected on how much her mother would hate it. The house was always filled with music and laughter. No buts._

_Allison stood silently next to her siblings, eyes on the people in front of her giving their condolence. She really didn't need to hear how sorry these people were. All she wanted to do was go lay in her bed and cry._

"_Allie." She turned and saw the Moore's. _

_Margaret and David were standing in front of her, Ethan and Rebecca a little behind them. Margaret's eyes were red._

"_I'm so sorry baby." Maggie hugged her and so did David. Rebecca followed and Ethan bent to wrap his arms around her._

"_I love you Scout, hang in there." He whispered in her ear. That was when she burst into tears. _

_Scout had been their nickname for her when she used to tag along with him, Nick and Matt. Even though the other two boys were older then him by quite a few years (he was a year older then Allie) they had always let him tag along._

"When I moved, we would try to meet up with each other. About a year later Rebecca was driving drunk and got a warning. She did it a few more times, got caught with drugs once and was arrested. We got in a huge fight about it and didn't speak to each other, but for a while he was my best friend. Life went on, and I went to college."

_15 Years Ago_

"_Room 510… 510, where the hell is it?" Allison muttered as she made her way down the corridor looking at her schedule. _

_Although this was the second semester of college the staff had switched classrooms, and moved the class to a different wing, not giving the class any directions._

_She bumped into someone and looked up startled. "Oh, sorry." He smiled warmly at her. "It's okay." He bent down to help her pick up the books she had dropped._

"_Thanks."_

"_No problem." A hand was offered. "Joe Simmons."_

"_Allison Cameron." _

"_Nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink later? As an apology for bumping into you?"_

_Allison smiled at him. "Seven at Gizmo's?" It was the local bar that the students frequented. _

"_Sure."_

**_Two weeks later_**

"_Allie!" Allison turned to see Joe running towards her. They had quickly become fast friends, but she was meeting some girlfriends at a coffee shop and had to get going._

"_Hey, what's up?"_

"_Actually, I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine." Joe gestured and called to someone who walked towards them._

"_Allie this is Ethan."_

"_Ethan Moore." She interrupted him. Her voice was cool as were her eyes._

"_And if it isn't Scout."_

"_Wait." Joe stared at her. "You're Scout?"_

"_I was." Her smile was sad. "Once upon a time."_

"_That also means you're Elizabeth Kramer's daughter."_

"_That I am. If you two would excuse me though, I have to meet some friends for coffee." Allison disappeared quickly down the hallway._

"Ethan chased me down, apologized to me and eventually I forgave him. We started dating, and one thing led to another. Before I knew it we were married. Two weeks after that he started get a really bad pain in his throat. He ignored it for to long, and by the time I got him to tell me what was wrong and to the doctor, it was too late. He was given six months, he died two weeks later."

Tears were streaming down her face. After all those years it still hurt her to retell the story.

All that time that House had thought that she had married a dying man because he was dying, he had been wrong. She had married him out of love, and the man hadn't told her that he was sick until it was too late.

There was nothing that could be said so House continued to stroke her hair. Abruptly she stood and wiped her eyes.

"I need to shower." House watched her disappear into the bathroom and he stood up, grabbing his cane. He needed some more answers.

_And they accused him of avoiding his problems_


	15. Chapter 16

Not a lot to say, it's before midnight, isn't it?

* * *

**Chapter 16: A.W.H.**

As soon as Siobhan was in Allison's embrace, she began to shake. House couldn't tell if she was crying, but whatever had happened to her was hitting her hard.

"I got you; it's okay to let it out." Allison ran her hand through her sister's hair as she fought to gain control over her emotions.

Finally she pulled away and met her sister's eyes. Allison took in Siobhan's beat up face, and sighed. Siobhan pulled at her hospital gown a little, revealing a white gauze patch on her hip. It didn't mean anything to him, but Cameron obviously knew what was under it. She peeled the white away gently and House could see the letters A.W.H.

"What happened baby?"

"They were playing the cry game. I was taking to long to cry, Adam was bored and so were his friends. They dropped me off here afterwards, had me walk in by myself. No one asked what happened yet, that's good. But, I didn't cry at all so," she gestured to her body and Cameron nodded. House watched in confusion. Even though Cameron understood, he didn't. What the hell was the cry game?

"What's the verdict?"

"Well, my cast is ready to come off. Physical therapy for that should be interesting. I have two broken ribs and a bunch of scrapes and scratches. They had e on the ground and kicked me."

Cameron set the bed back into a laying down position. "You should rest Shi. I'll be here when you wake up. If you say you have something to do, P.J. said that you could stay with him for a few days."

Shi nodded. "Will you sing Allie?"

"Yeah baby, what song?"

"What song do you think?" Cameron laughed.

"Just checking." She brushed her Siobhan's hair from her face and began to sing. Her voice was sweet and clear and as she sang Siobhan's eyes drifted shut. House listened carefully, wondering if it would be another song about abuse.

"_Wake up to a sunny day, not a cloud up in the sky  
Then it starts to rain, my defenses hit the ground  
And they shatter all around, so open and exposed  
I found strength in the struggle  
Face to face with my trouble" _

Cameron met his gaze and smiled sadly before beginning the chorus.  
_  
"When you're broken in a million little pieces  
And you're trying but you can't hold on anymore  
Every tear falls down for a reason  
Don't you stop believing in yourself  
When you're broken"_

Broken and damaged, different words can have some of the same meaning. House was starting to unravel the interesting puzzle that was Allison Cameron.

_"Little girl don't be so blue  
I know what you're going through  
Don't let it beat you up  
Heaven knows that getting scars  
Only makes you who you are  
Only makes you who you are  
No matter how much your heart is aching  
There is beauty in the breaking  
Yeah" _

Siobhan's eyes cracked open for the verse like she knew they would. The first two lines had always been true. And the part about getting scars, Cameron was partly who she was because of what Adam had done to her for those years.

_When you're broken in a million little pieces  
And you're trying but you can't hold on anymore  
Every tear falls down for a reason  
Don't you stop believing in yourself  
When you're broken_

_Better days are gonna find you once again  
Every piece will find it's place  
When you're broken  
When you're broken_

_When you're broken  
In a Million little pieces  
And your tryin'  
But you can't hold on any more  
Every tear falls down for a reason  
Don't you stop believin' in your self_

_When you're broken  
Oh When you're broken  
When you're broken  
When you're broken _

By the end of the song Siobhan was sleeping peacefully.

House looked at her. "Never heard that song before."

"My mother wrote it. Right before she died. It was never put on an album." Cameron shrugged. "I used to sing it to Shi all the time, my mom wrote it for me."

House nodded and then looked Cameron in the eyes. "What was the mark on her hip that she showed you." C

ameron stood up and pulled down her pants a little so he could see her side. A.W.H. was embedded in her flesh. The scars were thin, a fine white. House reached out and brushed a hand over the letters gently. It was right where Shi's was.

"A for Adam, W for Wayne H for Higgins. Adam Wayne Higgins. It's his mark."

House didn't know what to say to that so he moved on to his next question.

"What the heck is the cry game?"

Cameron looked at him eerily calm. "It's a game they would play. See who can get you to cry first by doing different – things. Who ever won got their prize of choice." House understood what she was saying immediately and looked sickened.

"I have to go. Will you stay here with Shi?"

"Where are you going?"

"To stop the mess."

"What?" House demanded sharply.

"Someone has to stop him. He wanted to see me anyway. When we leave, I want Shi coming home with me. I'm not letting her stay with that –that monster." Before he could say anything she dashed out of the door.

* * *

Oh Cliff hanger - I shamelessly stole the song 'Broken' from the movie Broken Bridges. It's not mine. never will be. It's short. Sorry about that. I'm uping the rating to T because I don't know if there will be any more talk of rape, and well, I'm like that. Review! 


	16. Chapter 17

**Here is it... seventeen. It's longer then the last two. Here you go: **

* * *

**Chapter 17: Ending It**

House rushed out after Cameron. It was a good thing that he was still holding onto the keys. He hoped that she had forgotten that small fact. To his relief she had.

When he dashed out of the elevator seconds behind her she was glaring at the car in frustration. She sent it a half hearted kick.

"Damnit."

"Foreman's not here, but I'm sure he would help you out." House limped towards her. The keys dangled loosely from his hand. "You are not going to see Adam."

She tilted her chin up and glared at him defiantly. "When the hell did you become my keeper House?"

"When you started acting like you didn't care about your life. Someone needs to look after you. I don't want one dead immunologist."

"I thought we already discussed the fact that you're not my Night in Shining Armor. I can take care of myself. I need to do this."

"No." House cornered her against the car. "You don't."

"I'm not going to stand by and watch Shi get beaten and broken."

"Like everyone did for you?" Cameron glared and shoved him. She didn't care about his leg at the moment. He barely stumbled, and Cameron didn't have any where to go.

"You don't know anything House." She saw the keys and lunged for them. House grabbed her, and held her wrists in a vice like grip. It would leave a bruise that was for sure.

"And what exactly do you know _Dr. Cameron_?"

"I know my family. I know why we did what we did. I know how to survive. My childhood was bad House, but it doesn't take a rapist to make it that way. Words and actions can hurt just as much. I know that my father was a bastard with his words, but yours was one with his actions. I know that you think that I need to fix people, but you're really the one who feels the need to make everything better. Otherwise you wouldn't be here fighting with me. But then again, right now, I'm just another puzzle for you to solve."

House saw red. He had called her lobby art, told her that he didn't like her, but she had never been _just a puzzle_ to him.

"Is that what you think?" He spun her around to face him and before she could answer, he slammed his lips against hers.

It was hot, and harsh. The one at Carmichael's had been spur of the moment, tentative and then passionate, but this one was like House was trying to prove something to her. He pulled his lips away from hers, and Cameron stared at him, breathing heavy.

"Why do you keep doing that?" She demanded.

"Well, it stops you from talking. Easy way to win arguments. Plus I like it. And you don't seem to be complaining. You're not just a puzzle and you're not going to see Adam."

"Did I mention that you can't stop me?"

"Want to bet?"

Before Cameron could answer him, her phone rang. "I swear to God -" She muttered.

"Hello?"

"Foreman?" She paused and groaned. "Seriously?" She shook her head. "No, I know a place don't worry about it. We'll be there in a few. Okay, bye."

She hung up and dialed a number. "You don't mind a few extra guests do you?"

"Thanks P.J. we'll be there soonish. Love you, bye."

She hung up again and held up a finger when House tapped his cane impatiently. "This is about the patient in room 472. Could you tell her to call P.J. when she wakes up? Thank you."

Allison turned to House who was watching her irritated. "According to Foreman, a pipe burst in the hotel. Everything is flooded, and all of the water has stopped working. They are closing down the hotel for the time being. We have to go pack. The conference has been canceled and rescheduled. Cuddy said that if we can get a flight back, do it. If we can't, take the next five days to see the city." "And, pray tell, where are we going to stay?"

"With P.J. of course" was Cameron's reply. "I'll deal with Adam later."

"No, you won't."

"Once again, you aren't my keeper." They continued to argue all the way to the hotel.

* * *

"Home sweet home." Allison muttered. 

The men in the car with her jaws dropped. The looming Evanston mansion she pulled up to wasn't what most would consider 'Sweet Home', but Cameron didn't seem concerned by it. She parked the car and got out.

"C'mon. I have to get some rooms ready." She yawned and they followed her obediently into the house, suitcases in tow.

Cameron opened the front door and listened for a minute. "They're upstairs, let's go." She walked up the winding staircase to the second floor. There was a hallway with three doors, all closed. Cameron opened the middle one.

The sound of a piano being played could be heard. Allison rolled her eyes and sighed. She stepped into the room and glared at her brother. Matt, Nick and Ellie were sitting in the room. It was a ballroom, with alcoves in every corner and a grand piano in the middle. There was also a bar and a stage.

"No."

"One song." Matt replied. He was playing the piano.

"No."

"P.J. went to pick up Shi." Ellie informed her sister.

"When Shi comes back then, deal?"

"Deal. But we pick the song."

Cameron ignored Matt. "Guys, these are my coworkers Eric Foreman and Robert Chase, and my boss Gregory House, my sister Ellie and my brothers Matt and Nicky."

The siblings caught on quickly as to why she had introduced House to them again and just waved and smiled.

"How is this going to work?" Nicky questioned from his position on the stage next to Ellie. They were tossing a ball back and forth. Ellie lobbed it to Cameron who caught it and tossed it back easily.

"No idea." The siblings paused for a moment. Then Allison and Matt walked over to Ellie and Nicky and the four started an intense whispering conversation. Finally Cameron sighed and nodded.

"I'll go show them, we'll set everything up later." Allison turned back to the three guys and gestured for them to follow her.

"I'll give you the grand tour in a minute." They followed her upstairs, and Cameron paused once at the top.

"Okay. We normally have seven bedrooms, but we already packed up the two guest ones. Shi and Ellie are sharing, P.J. gets his own, and Matt and Nicky are sharing. That means that two of you are sharing Nicky's room and one of you is rooming with me."

"I call rooming with Cameron." House called out before anyone could utter a word. "We were already sharing anyway."

Allison rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Fine."

She led them down the hall, pointing out the various closed doors. P.J.'s room was at the end of the hall, while the two guest rooms were on either side. Allison's was next to one of the guest rooms, Ellie's next to hers. The two girls shared a bathroom in between. One the other side was Nicky's bedroom and Matt's. They also shared a bathroom. Cameron directed them to Nicky's room and pulled out the futon for one of them to sleep on.

Allison's room was painted a lavender House realized when he stepped in it. There was nothing extremely girly about it either. Pictures lined the walls. She had a bunk bed, which House found amusing, but then he realized that she had been just a child. Allison had been only 15 when her mother had died. Cameron's bed was lined with a night stand. She had two bookshelves and a walk in closet. There was a desk in the corner and a bulletin board above the desk covered in papers. House went to get a closer look at the papers. One caught his eye in particular. It was a plain piece of paper with a picture of her and her older siblings and their father. Cameron looked to be about seven or eight.

The date on the paper was March 2, 1982. It was titled QUESTIONS and he read the poem slowly, feeling his heart break a little more for the child Cameron had been.

_¿Questions?_

One marriage, two marriage, three marriage…four?  
What had made him walk out the door?  
Why? Was the only question I had,  
But then, I decided I didn't want him as a dad.

My mother threw him out two weeks before Christmas day,  
I always wondered what I had done to make him go away.  
My siblings were angry, but I was just sad,  
What had made him stop wanting to be my dad?

Divorce court and a decree,  
What did that have to do with me?  
At seven I understood he was getting a new wife,  
But didn't he want us in his life?

My sister cried a million tears a day,  
What could I have done to make him stay?  
Years later I still wish I knew,  
But now I know there is nothing I can do.

One marriage, two marriage, three marriage…four?  
What had made him walk out the door?  
Why? Was the only question I had,  
But then, I decided I didn't want him as a dad.

"Hey." He spun around and looked at her guiltily and she rolled her eyes. "Like I didn't expect you to snoop. I'm not an idiot. C'mon, I'm giving the guys a tour. Shi and P.J. should be here soon, and I promised the brothers a song. We have a theatre in the basement, so we'll probably watch one tonight."

She didn't mention Adam, but House had a feeling that she would be seeing him with an attempted sneak out. He wasn't going to let her do that. With quiet resolve he followed her.

* * *

The poem is mine. I wrote it I own it. I changed the siblings names to what fit, but other then that it's my original poem. The next chapter may be slow coming because I have two other stories to write. That doesn't necessarily mean it won't be up to tomorrow, but I'm telling you it might not be. 

Review!


	17. Chapter 18

I made the house how I wanted it. It's mine. The song Cameron sings is not. I do own it on a CD though.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Sweet Home ** **Chicago**

The grand tour had the men gaping after it ended. (Cameron had grown up _there_?) The middle floor consisted of the ballroom, a backroom that connected to the stage, and a recording studio. The recording studio had her mothers old record pictures, and copies of every CD she had ever made (12).

The downstairs was a big kitchen that any chef would die to have, a dining room, a library, and a living room. The ceilings were twelve feet, and Cameron had told them that their Christmas trees growing up had always been huge. A hot tub and a patio were outside as well as a massive swing set and an impressive garden. There was no pool, because as Cameron explained, they were in walking distance of Lake Michigan. A five car garage was out back. It was two stories and the top story had been converted into a play area for the kids when they were younger. As they had gotten older they had turned it into a cool 'hang-out zone' for them and their friends.

The basement was what everyone was really impressed with. There was a theatre with every movie known to man (even PJ's newest one that was not yet released), a wine cellar, a sauna, an office and a family room. There was a pinball machine and other arcade games as well as a pool table, a foosball table and a ping pong table. The whole house had five fireplaces, 6.5 bathrooms and was gated. Cameron didn't seem to notice the massiveness of it, but the guys did.

"I grew up here, it was never really a big deal to me" was Cameron's simple reply.

They finished the tour, and were trouping back upstairs when the front door opened. Cameron disappeared down the stairs and reappeared half-supporting her sister. She waved off Foreman and Chase's offers to help her and PJ and the two sat Shi down on the stage.

"You owe me a song Allie." Matt reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He sat at the piano and began to play the opening notes of whatever she was singing. Cameron laughed and began the song. House was surprised when Nick moved over to a drum set that he hadn't noticed and began to tap out the rhythm.

"_Come on  
Oh baby don't you wanna go  
Come on  
Oh baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home _ _Chicago_

_Come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Hidehey  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Oh sweet home _ _Chicago__"_

Cameron got up and sauntered over to her coworkers, grinning innocently as she continued the song. Her eyes were dancing, and she pulled on Foreman until he stood and began to dance with her- albeit reluctantly.

_"Well, one and one is two  
Six and two is eight  
Come on baby don't ya make me late  
Hidehey  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home _ _Chicago_

_Come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home _ _Chicago__"_

Shi was laughing and holding her ribs. House could tell that they had given her something for the pain because of the dopey smile on her face. Foreman sat down and Ellie joined her sister in dancing, and singing the last few lines. P.J. was shaking his head at the two of them as the giggled. House could tell that dancing and singing was common by the way everything seemed so routine. They had done this before and would do it again.

_"Six and three is nine  
Nine and nine is eighteen  
Look there brother baby and see what I've seen  
Hidehey  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home _ _Chicago_

_Oh come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Come on  
Baby don't you wanna go  
Back to that same old place  
Sweet home _ _Chicago__"_

Cameron ended and House, Foreman and Chase clapped.

"I didn't know that you could sing Cam."

She shrugged and offered Foreman an innocent grin. "You never asked."

"If I ask, will you sing another song?" Chase smiled innocently.

"Nope. One was enough."

"Let's go in the basement." Shi suggested.

"I can camp out on the couch and you guys can watch a movie or play some games, and then we can order pizza."

The group nodded and all stood.

Neither Forman or Chase had been brave enough to question what had happened to Shi.

House hung back slightly and caught Ellie, who was the last to walk out.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." She paused and met his eyes steadily.

"Allie told you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah. At the hospital today, she said that she was going to see Adam, to make him stop. I'm assuming she's going to try and sneak out of here. I want to follow her, or one of you needs to - to make sure she doesn't do something stupid."

Ellie nodded. "Do you know how to drive a motorcycle?"

House stared at her. "I just told you that your sister is putting herself in danger and you want to know if I drive a motorcycle?"

"It makes sense, just answer the question."

"Yes. Now explain."

"Tonight Matt will take you guys out to see the cars. Don't do anything stupidly obvious, just follow his lead. You'll get the keys and the code to get in the house. When Allie leaves you can follow her on the bike. See it makes sense."

* * *

And that was how it happened. One minute they were talking about jobs and House made a crack about Foreman stealing cars.

It had led to a conversation about the 1957 Chevrolet Corvette, the1969 Firebird and the other various cars that they had. They had gone out to see them, and House had asked if he could take out the Harley that was also there.

Matt had let him, and when he handed him the keys, there was also the code to get in the house.

The motorcycle had been left outside when they had gone in for some Nino's Pizza, and now House was just sitting in wait for Cameron to make a move.

He heard the rustling of her climbing off the top bunk, and the door opening. House swung his body off the bed. Now all he had to do was follow.

* * *

Short again, oh well, you know what's coming next, for real this time... review!


	18. Chapter 19

Chapter 19... what will happen to Cameron?

* * *

**Chapter 19: Deals **

_Earlier that night_

"Allie won't let you help her." Had come out of Ellie's mouth later on that night. She had gone outside to get pizza orders from the rest of the people staying there, and had pulled him aside.

"She's been independent since she knew what the word meant. If you want to save her from Adam, you're going to have to do it on her terms. That may mean not jumping in until absolutely necessary." Ellie met his gaze. "This sounds terrible, but you have to let Allie fight this battle for a little while."

"And why would that be?"

"I'm a physiatrist."

"So she has to fight her own battles because of your job?"

"Would you let me finish a sentence?" Ellie asked, tapping her foot impatiently. House mimed zipping his lips and she rolled her eyes. It reminded him of Cameron.

"I've talked to rape victims before. Hell, that's not the point. I know my sister. She blames herself."

House opened his mouth and she shot him a look causing him to close it immediately.

"The three of us and P.J. developed a system. Two of us would call her. Once in the morning, once in the night. We would ask her if she was okay, remind her it wasn't her fault, talk about normal things, and anything else she wanted. Allie knows what happened wasn't her fault, but there still is that little part of her that believes that she could have done something wrong. She needs to fight him and gain some closure. That doesn't mean that you watch them the entire time, but the minute Allie fights him don't appear."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

_Present time_

House followed Allison a good distance away from the taxi she had slid into. The drive seemed to take hours, but was really only about twenty minutes. She slipped out of the car and onto the beach.

House could see a shadow of a man standing there. He turned the bike off and limped over to where they were. Luckily for him, one of them had chosen a spot by what appeared to be a tiny hot dog joint that he could hide behind.

"Hello Allison."

"Adam."

"I knew that you would make the smart decision and come see me." He took a step closer and brushed a piece of hair off of her face.

"I missed you baby."

"Stop it Adam."

"Why?" he shot her a lecherous grin and House tightened his fist on his cane.

"You're here for a reason. You don't want Shi to get hurt. So, do what I tell you, and she won't."

"Leave Shi alone."

"Move back to Chicago."

Allison raised her chin and met his eyes. "I will never let you do to me what you used to. I'm taking Shi with me to Princeton."

"Kimmy and Tom will never consent to that."

"Why not? They never wanted her." House heard the sound of a smack.

"Don't be insolent Allison, it isn't becoming."

"Leave Shi alone."

There was another slap, and House took a step. He remembered Ellie's words, but he wasn't going to stand there and let Allison get beaten up.

"We're going to go have some fun Allison, and then I'll consider it."

"No. Stay the hell away from me."

House could make out the silhouette of Cameron shoving Adam as he took a step closer. He grabbed her wrists with one hand, and shoved her to the ground. House had enough. He walked the mere twenty feet quickly. He was seconds away when he heard a bone snap and Allison's cry of pain. He saw Adam kick her in the stomach and she yelped.

"Stop it Adam." Adam was crouched over her body as Cameron struggled below him.

"I believe she told you to stop."

House smacked the man with his crane in the back. It wasn't enough to do anything but harm the man, and he rolled over onto his back in pain. In that instant House hit him again, and was soon pressing the cane against his trachea. Cameron scrambled to her feet and looked at House with wide eyes.

"Do you have your cell phone?" She nodded unable to speak.

"Call the police."

"What?" Adam choked out.

House leaned on his cane harder for a second. He didn't want to kill the man – well, actually he did but that's a whole other story.

"Did I say that you could talk?"

Cameron looked up from the phone. She hadn't dialed yet. Her lip was split and House bet that she would have bruises tomorrow. Her broken arm hung loosely, and House was worried that he had damaged some organs when he kicked her.

"You can let him go, he doesn't hit men. Only women after he terrorizes them."

"I'll keep him down anyway."

Cameron looked at him helplessly. House could see it in her eyes. She didn't want to call the police, and he didn't particularly want to deal with them.

In Cameron's mindset, House could see what she was seeing. Her face and past being splashed all over TV, and having to testify against her Uncle and talk about the gruesome things she had gone through.

"Let me tell you how this is going to work Adam."

"I go to jail?" He sneered back.

"Well, I was going to offer you a way out, but if that's what you want to do, be my guest."

House glowered at the man. "You will leave Allison and Siobhan alone. She will come to Princeton with us, and if I ever hear a peep out of you again, you will be sorry."

"What? You'll beat me to death with your cane?"

"Allison does have two brothers, a famous step-dad, me and two co-workers who will come back to you if you ever so much as lay a finger on either of them." House gave him a sharp kick to the groin and leaned harder on the trachea, if that was even possible.

"Do we have an understanding Adam?" He gasped and sputter and coughed, and House lessened the hold of his cane.

"Yes" he finally choked out and House nodded.

"That's lovely. We're going to go now. If any of the Cameron sisters ever hear from you again, you'll regret it deeply." With those words, House gestured for Cameron to follow him to his motorcycle.

* * *

Cameron had wrapped her arm around him on the motorcycle, and he had gone slowly, not wanting to lose his precious cargo. They pulled up to the house, and slid through the gates silently.

"Let's get you fixed up." Cameron looked at him for a minute and then sighed.

"You're angry." House whirled on her and glowered.

"Of course I'm angry! You could have died." Her eyes were a challenge.

"So what House? Why do you suddenly care? If I'm not just a puzzle, then what makes me so special? I'm just an employee. So, hire a new immunologist. Or are you just upset that you wouldn't have someone who used to like you there to make fun of?"

House took a step towards her, the grip on his can tightening.

"Why do you think that I kissed you Cameron?"

"What?" House took a step closer to her.

"Was it because I thought it was fun? Everybody lies Allison."

To stunned to speak she just stared at him. Cameron lifted her arm and touched his face. She looked so confused and startled that it almost broke his heart.

"I - I" She shook her head. "I don't think that I can do this right now."

"Them when? Next year? Next month? When are we going to be on the same page?" House was frustrated, but Cameron just shook her head.

"Maybe tomorrow. I meant that I'm bruised, bloody and in deathly need of some sort of pain reliever. When I can think coherently would be a good time."

House tilted his head at her. "Do near death experiences always make you snark?"

"If I say yes can we go inside?" House relented as a grimace crossed her face.

"Lead the way madam." With a mocking bow House followed her through the front door, and then all hell exploded.

* * *

Dun dun dun... earliest update will be on Monday, I'm at my dad's this weekend. Would anyone be interested in a Grey's/House crossover? (Not in this story, a new one I'm thinking about.)

Some reviews would make me smile!


	19. Chapter 20

Chapter 20! And it's a pretty long one. Yeah!

* * *

**Chapter 20: God, Heaven, and Hell**

Cameron moved to the kitchen, House trailing behind her. Once in the kitchen, Cameron froze in the doorway and groaned.

P.J., Ellie, Matt, Nicky and Shi were sitting there. Instead of speaking to any of them she walked over to where Shi was and mimicked what she was doing. The two were sitting on stools at the island with their heads resting in their arms.

House limped over to stand by the rest of the family. Ellie raised an eyebrow in a silent question of how things went, but House just shook his head. He would let Allison answer her.

P.J. disappeared for a moment, only to return with a first aid kit.

"Allie." She didn't answer him. "Lee."

This got a groan. "Mmm-pppphhh."

"She said talk when to her when she's alive." Shi translated, not lifting her head. Cameron let out a snort. "And give her drugs. Lots and lots of drugs."

House took the first aid kit from P.J. and sat next to her, until Cameron raised her head and looked at him. He merely raised an eyebrow, and Allison scooted off the stool and followed him obediently.

* * *

Once in a bathroom, Cameron hopped onto the counter so House could get a better look at her face, and then her stomach and arm.

"You have to take your shirt off."

Cameron snorted. "I can't."

"You can't?"

She just looked at him and House sighed. He gently pulled her shirt up so that it still covered her breasts, but he could clearly see her stomach.

"We have to go in and get your arm set."

"Why didn't you just take me there first?"

"Because we were on a motorcycle. And they would've wanted to check out your other wounds, which I can do just fine. I am a doctor you know."

"Really? I thought you told Shi that M.D. stood for massive dick."

"It is." House raised his eyebrows suggestively. "You wanna see it?" Cameron snorted and the two sat in silence as House cleaned her up.

"Your face is scraped up, and your stomach is bruised, but we'll get an x-ray to confirm that that's it." Allison nodded and got down from the counter.

"But, first we have to go face _them_."

"Them?" House questioned with a smirk.

"The family of course. Did you think that I was gonna get off light? Although, if we're going to the hospital, they'll yell at me after."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"I'll be in less pain, or slightly loopy. Either A, I'll come up with a good defense or B, I'll be too out of it to even care what they have to say."

House nodded. "Both good choices I guess. Let's go."

"Uh-hu." She disappeared for a second and returned with a hat, which she pulled low over her eyes. It was a beige color and read USA and had the Olympic rings.

"We're making another stop before we come home." House raised an eyebrow, but she ignored him and held up the keys that she had grabbed. "Let's go."

* * *

They went to the hospital, where House grabbed a room and they confirmed that her arm was indeed broken and make sure that Adam hadn't done any damage other then bruise her stomach.

"Let's go." Cameron had barely said any words, but had seemed deep in thought most of the time at the hospital.

"Go where?"

"I'll give you directions, you drive."

"Yes ma'am." He gave her a smart salute and Cameron mumbled something.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, House pulled up to a cemetery. Dawn was just breaking, and the sky was filled with various colors of pink, orange, red and blue hues.

Cameron stumbled from the car (both had had nearly no sleep) and House followed when she glanced at him impatiently. Soon enough they were standing in front of Lizzie Kramer's grave.

Allison dropped unceremoniously next to it and sighed. She looked at House, and he understood enough to drop down on the ground next to her. It would hurt him later, but Allison was more important.

"You asked me one time what a man had to do to make me hate him." She turned her face up to him.

"I hate Adam more then I hate any person in the world, even the drunk driver that killed my mom and sent me to that house. I can't believe in God because of him either. I was never really a big believer, we were forced to go to church with my dad, and I had a Bat Mitzvah because Mom was Jewish, but we were never really religious. I can't believe in God because if there really is a God then why wasn't He doing something to stop what Shi and I were going through?" Her eyes were filled with tears, but not once did one fall.

"Where was God when one of us was laying on the ground broken and bloody? On those nights that Adam and his friends almost broke us into a million pieces?"

Her question seemed to be rhetorical and she began to absentmindedly trace the letters on her mother's grave stone.

House read it silently.

_Elizabeth Marie Kramer  
_

_1946-1989_

_Loving wife, friend, sister, actress, singer and mother_

_"When you think of my life on earth and all those loving years  
Because you are human, they are bound to bring you tears.  
But do not be afraid to cry, it does relieve that pain.  
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain."_

House read the verse out loud and looked at Allison.

"It's part of a poem." House shrugged. He had never heard it before. She began to recite it, eyes sad, and voice quiet.

"To my dearest family, some things I'd like to say…But first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.  
I'm writing this from heaven. Here I dwell with God above.  
Here, there's no more tears of sadness; here is just eternal love.  
Please do not be unhappy because I'm out of sight.  
Remember that I'm with you every morning, noon and night.  
That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through,  
God picked me up and hugged me and He said, "I welcome you.  
It's good to have you back again; you were missed while you were gone.  
As for your dearest family, they'll be here later on.  
I need you here badly; you're part of my plan.  
There's so much that we have to do, to help our mortal man."  
God gave me a list of things that he wished for me to do.  
And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.  
And when you lie in bed at night, the day's chores put to flight.  
God and I are closest to you… in the middle of the night.  
When you think of my life on earth and all those loving years  
Because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.  
But do not be afraid to cry it does relieve the pain.  
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.  
I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.  
But if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.  
But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is o'er.  
I'm closer to you now, then I ever was before.  
There are many rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;  
But together we can do it by taking one day at a time.  
It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too…  
That as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.  
If you can held someone who's in sorrow and pain,  
Then you can say to God at night… "My day was not in vain."  
And now I am contented… that my life has been worthwhile,  
Knowing as I passed along the way, I made somebody smile.  
So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low,  
Just lend a hand to pick him up, as on your way you go.  
When your walking down the street, and you've got me on your mind;  
I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.  
And when it's time for you to go… from that body to be free,  
Remember you're not going… you're coming here to me."

Allison finished the poem and brushed away the tears that had started to fall.

"Sorry…"

"Hey." House caught her chin in his hand and met her eyes. "I'm the cold hearted bastard, remember? You can have emotions."

Allison smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. House stroked her back, and could feel her shoulders shaking as the emotions of the day finally caught up with her.

He didn't say anything, just continued to stroke her back and hang on to her. After all, there was nothing to say. He couldn't tell her that everything would be okay, and he couldn't apologize for something that he couldn't control. Her mothers death, Adam, the pain she was probably feeling.

Allison finally pulled away from him and found a rock and put it on the headstone. At his weird look she shrugged.

"It's a Jewish tradition. We need to be getting back now. They need to find out what happened and we need to figure out a cover story for Chase and Foreman." House let Allison stand and then pull him up after he popped a couple Vicodin. She didn't say anything, but House could clearly see the worry.

"I'm fine, I promise." In a very unHouselike gesture he kissed her forehead and took her hand as they walked out of the cemetery.

* * *

So it was a maybe corny ending, but oh well. If you skipped over the poem, go back and read it. Like now. I didn't write it. Review!  



	20. Chapter 21

Here's 21. I don't own the part of La Vie Boheme that is in here. Jonathon Larson does. And if you haven't seen RENT you need to. After you read and review this chapter though.

* * *

**Chapter 21: Letters, Lies and Laughter**

By the time that Cameron and House finally made it to the house, Foreman and Chase were awake. They were sitting at the kitchen table talking to the family and drinking coffee.

Allison saw them, walked in and collapsed next to Shi, taking her earlier position.

Foreman and Chase both looked at her in concern. Foreman had spotted the cast, and opened his mouth to say something, but Shi interrupted him with a grin.

She was looking at Chase who was staring at Cameron with an expression on his face that made House want to slap him. Chase had better stay away from Allison.

"Hey mister" Chase looked at Shi "she's my sister."

Nicky rolled his eyes, but sang out:

"So, that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad  
Three soy burger dinner, two tofu dog platter  
And one pasta with meatless balls."

Matt wrinkled up his nose. "Ew."

"It tastes the same" P.J. pointed out.

"If you close your eyes." Ellie sniggered.

Nicky sang the next line, hopping on to the counter:  
"And thirteen orders of fries  
Is that it here?"

The Cameron children looked at each other, laughed and responded "Wine and Beer!"

Shi paused a moment and then spun to look at Foreman. "You can ask your question now."

"Cam? What happened to your arm?"

House froze, but none of the family members seemed concerned.

"It's all P.J.'s fault." She mumbled propping her head in her good hand.

"Why is it always my fault Lee?" He asked playfully. House relaxed slightly. They seemed to know what they were doing.

"Because you were the one chasing me."

"Chasing you?" Chase repeated.

P.J. rolled his eyes good naturedly. "That's what you get for running on wood floors in socks."

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Is somebody going to stop them?" Foreman asked watching the two lobby back and forth.

"_CHILDREN!_" Matt intoned in a high pitched womanly voice. "The two of you need to stop arguing! I swear to God every time the two of you get together -"

Allison was staring at him in a mixture of amusement and horror. "What are you, my mother? Who's Jewish? And from New York?" My Jewish mother who's from New York?

"Well, I always wanted you have a doctor in the family." Matt kept up the voice. Allison started laughing, and buried her head in her hands.

"No, you're mother wasn't from New York." P.J. shook his head.

"And didn't talk like that" Ellie pointed out. She was grinning, eyes dancing.

"So how did you break your arm?" Foreman repeated his question still confused.

"I was running from P.J., I slipped and this is the end product." Cameron lifted her arm and House was grateful that she had put cover-up on in the car. Her arm she had lied about with a scary ease, but the handprints on her face were different.

Foreman raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "I've done it before. When we were at my dad's one year for thanksgiving I was running from Rory, I slid on the hardwood floor, crashed into a table and bruised my ribs."

"Took you about two weeks to get to the doctor though."

"Well, it was hard to convince Dad that I had actually hurt myself." Allison rolled her eyes, but House could see the hurt there.

"Dear Tom," Ellie started calmly "there was a tragic accident involving Allie and that stupid table that you bring up for holidays. She sadly died. Funerals tomorrow, can you come?"

The Cameron children sniggered, Shi holding her ribs. House turned to his other two ducklings. "Is anyone else confused?" They both nodded, but P.J. just shook his head.

"They won't explain the letters to you until they feel like it. You learn to deal." The Cameron's were still giggling and House caught Allison's eye.

She shrugged in an 'I'll explain later' gesture. People may not have found their sense of humor funny, but it was who they were. Their defense mechanism to death, dying, and any sort of injury was making it funny. Even the stupid little injuries got letters.

Would the uncaring be there? Would they suddenly pretend to care? To hide their hurt, they would write 'letters'. They would start off with the tragic way the person had died (rolling down a hill, forgetting where the brake on the scooter was, rolling up the car window while someone's body part was hanging out, etc.) and end with 'funeral's tomorrow can you come?'

Over the years, the Cameron's had met people who didn't think that the letters were funny, but the closest friends just rolled their eyes, shook their heads and at times contributed to the wacky letters.

P.J. glanced at his watch. "You know, if we leave in 15 minutes, we could probably beat the Wishbone brunch rush."

At those words, the five of them were up and grinning in delight. Allison grabbed House by the arm and tugged at him to follow her as Matt and Nicky each grabbed Foreman and Chase.

"Let's go."

* * *

"So, do you want to tell me what that was about?"

"What was about?" Cameron struggled to get her shirt over her head.

She was wearing a bra, and was too tired to care if House saw her in just that. Allison had already changed into jeans, and now was just struggling with the stupid t-shirt.

She was debating going and enlisting one of her sisters to get it off when House walked over to her and gently pulled the shirt over her head.

That got a tired smile and she decided to answer his question. "When I was – God, about six or seven – we went to Galena. My Mom had just gotten me a new scooter." Cameron smiled at the memory.

"Anyway, Galena is really hill, and Matt dared me to go down one of the bigger hills. So, I agreed and go flying down the hill. I got to the bottom, where it turned into a gravel road and didn't brake. I wiped out going full speed. Gravel embedded in my skin, blood, quiet a few scrapes." She shrugged. "Matt's favorite part of the story is that the second after I fell, all four of them tearing down the hill I jumped up and yelled 'I'm okay'."

House let out a soft laugh. "Only you."

She shrugged. "The letters started after that. I asked Mom if Dad would be at my funeral. She told me that she would write him a letter."

House stared at her. "That's an interesting perspective to have."

"Eh. Well, it's the only one I got." Cameron shrugged. House leaned forward and captured her lips gently. She kissed him back just as gently and then pulled away when there was a pounding on the door.

"C'mon guys, make out later." House raised an eyebrow and Allison shrugged.

"She's joking." Allison pulled a shirt over her head and grabbed a pair of clogs before taking her purse and turning towards the door.

"Are you going to ask me why I did that?"

"Are you going to tell me?" was her pointed reply.

House gave her another gently kiss and smiled. "For being you. Now," he opened the door for her "tell me about this Wishbone place."

* * *

Yah Wishbone! The whole letter thing? Totally 100 mine and my families. Sorry if you don't think that we're funny, but it's who we are. Review! If I get eight I hit 200! You know you want to... 


	21. Chapter 22

**Okay so, Nickelback was amazing and that was two days ago, and then yesterday I didn't write fanfiction because I was too busy reading the new Harry Potter book. I finished it because I am insane. I won't say what I thought because I don't know who hasn't read it yet that reads my authors notes. **

**Also, today is the one year anniversary of a friends of mines death. So yeah. This chapter may have a depressing feel at the end, and that's probably why. Sorry. Some reviews would amke me smile.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Wishbone and Little Lost Girls**

The group trouped outside and paused in front of the two cars parked out front.

"We're going to have to split up." Matt pointed out.

Allison, Shi, and Ellie all grouped together, Shi pulling on House's arm so he was standing with them.

"El, you're driving."

"Why?" she demanded crossly.

"Because I said so." Shi grinned at Allie's reply. The men had already climbed into their car with no protest.

"Can we go?" House asked the three sisters. "I'm hungry."

They all sighed and rolled their eyes in perfect unison but got in the car. Shi rode shot gun and Allie and House were in the back.

Soon they were speeding into Chicago music blaring. Nicky was driving in front of them and Ellie pulled up next to him for a second so the girls could childishly stick their tongues out at him as they passed.

"Wow. Aren't all of you adults?"

"So?" Allison grinned at him eyes dancing.

"We're always children in Chicago anyway. We can't help it." Ellie turned onto a side street and parked, cursing under her breath.

"Nice." House commented hearing her swears.

"I thought so." Ellie replied. She shut off the engine and paused at the onslaught of oncoming cars, not wanting to open her car door and have it get hit.

"So…" House regarded the three women in the car. "You" he pointed to Ellie. "Swear like a sailor. But you" he pointed at Allison "don't. And you-" Shi looked at him. "Barely speak at all, so I can't really say what you do. What's up with that?"

"Family life style" Ellie replied. "Even though we're all related I lived with my mother and had the most normal childhood out of the three of us. Allie was stuck there for four years and had to follow their rules and was also surrounded by small children. Shi was pretty much considered invisible."

"It was fun though." Shi commented. They got out of the car and headed for the rest of their group. "I never had to spend a lot of time with them." Allison shook her head and stepped inside Wishbone.

House looked around the building in surprise. It was big, but was painted warm colors and he had to do a double take when he saw some of the paintings.

Allison caught his surprised look and smiled. "The paintings always catch everyone's eyes."

Indeed, it was true. They were of different animals, mostly farm. There was one of a chicken with eggs as clouds while he was laying eggs into what appeared to be water. Another was of a dog and a – cow? He wasn't sure what the other one was under an apple tree with a snake, which House could only figure to be a representation of Adam and Eve.

"Interesting."

She smiled at him. "We used to practically live at this restaurant."

"What happened?" Allison gestured for him to walk with her as they followed a star-struck server to their table.

"Rory was born. My dad used to have an apartment here a few blocks away. When Rory was born they decided that she needed a back yard and that they city wasn't where they wanted to raise a child or something." House watched Cameron as she spoke. Her voice was clear and devoid of emotion, but he could see the bit of hurt that her eyes held.

* * *

Over brunch the group had a great time. The girls focused their attention on Matt and Nicky and mercilessly teasing them, while Foreman and Chase were taunted by House with Cameron interrupting from time to time.

They were standing up to leave when _it_ happened. Siobhan and Allison immediately tensed in a reaction he had seen before at Ed's. Ellie winced and Matt and Nicky sighed. Allison and Shi subconsciously moved closer to P.J. and their brothers.

House recognized the man as her father, but not the woman he was with. House watched as he greeted his children with hugs and bright smiles. Even when he saw Allison his eyes didn't seem as cold. The woman standing next to him wasn't smiling.

"I wonder how many mimosas it took to get her out of bed today." Allison muttered under her breath. She was standing next to him and Shi.

"With or without the orange juice?" Shi sassed back just as quiet.

"Dunno. It wouldn't be a mimosa without the orange juice."

"So? She could just add without the orange juice in her head and tell everyone that she had a mimosa for breakfast."

"And add a mimosa plus two or three without the orange juice in her head too?"

"Yeah. That's how it goes." Shi nodded. House looked at the two of them.

"I'll explain in the car." Allison smiled at him. "I have to go be nice, excuse me." With some jostling around by movement of siblings House ended up next to P.J.

"Wasn't this he same man who could care less about Allison when we went to Ed's?" House was sure to keep his voice down, and he surprised himself slightly by using Cameron's first name out loud, but he wanted to know the answer.

P.J. nodded and smiled. "Thomas has always been competing with me for father of the year."

"What?" House looked between the men.

"When Allie was born -" P.J. sighed.

"He didn't want her really. He had his sons and his daughter and his affair, and everything was great for him. I was always the one Allie went to for advice or help, or any stuff that she wanted to talk about. He didn't want her, but he didn't want me to have her. Same goes for Shi, which I can maybe understand more, because she's my dead wife's ex-husbands daughter. So, when he sees one of them with one of the older siblings or me, he suddenly acts like he was Daddy of the Year. Allie's my little lost girl. Shi too, but not as bad."

"Little lost girl?" House raised an eyebrow.

"Psychiatrist term. Allie grew up attempting to be invisible. She was always the one sibling you could find after a fight. She would be off in her room 'thinking' or reading. Allie hated being drawn into reality and she didn't bother to get upset when something happened. If she was disappointed or if someone had forgotten something she acted like it didn't matter anyway. She was always the shy one. One of the favorite things she used to tell me is 'if you don't trust you don't get hurt'." P.J. shifted from one foot to the other watching the small family reunion.

"Tom made Allie see a psychiatrist after her mothers' death. This is what she said. Some of it's not off the mark that much. The psychiatrist also made the other siblings come in once or twice. She labeled the four of them."

House watched the siblings.

"Ellie is the good child, the one who all the praise was thrown upon, the" here P.J. made air quotes "'hero'." House could see Ellie nodded and he could see her father talking to her animatedly.

"Matt and Nicky are both the mascot. The ones who are always making everyone laugh, making sure that the attention is on the laughter not on what was going on in their lives." House turned his attention to the brothers who were laughing, and at one point tickling Shi.

"Allie and Matt are both problem children because Allie is the scapegoat, and Matt is the only one who ever really will speak the absolute truth. Allie is the caretaker, which means she looks after the emotional well being, which they all do actually, but Allie looked after the physical well being of the younger ones too. She made sure that they were all fed and dressed and had their homework done, and anything else a mother would do. And, she's my little lost girl, the one who's always hiding." House could see that in Allison Cameron.

Quiet and nice Cameron was, but there was the underlying stuff that House had never really thought about. She had never been the one talking too loudly or trying to upset anyone. She brushed off emotional pain or hid it until she was by herself.

Apparently the 'hellos' were over and Cameron appeared back next to him, face calm and emotionless. "Let's get out of here."

The rest of the family followed out, and House watched Cameron, P.J.'s words still ringing in his ears. He thought that he knew how damaged she was, but all of this went beyond anything he ever could have dreamed up.

* * *

All of that I got from Wikipedia after I googled Dysfunctional Family. I read it. Ha. I could be considered a "Lost Child" too. Also got this from there: A lot of actors and writers are 'lost children' who have found a way to express emotions while hiding behind their characters. Yep. I could be doing that now. Whatever. Review! 


	22. Chapter 23

**Next chapter. Who would be interested in reading the first few chapters of the grey's/house crossover and giving me a title? I need one before I go insane. It'll go to the first person who tells me they want it. **

* * *

**Chapter 23: Packing and Wilson**

After the trip to Wishbone, Foreman and Chase opted to see the city while House went back with the family.

They had dropped Chase and Foreman off at Navy Pier and given the two of them directions on how to get to the Sears Tower, Hancock Building, Water Tower and Millennium Park.

The group that was going back to the house was going to meet them at the House of Blues at seven.

"What do you guys want to start with?" Nicky questioned once they got in the house.

"We have to pack up our respective rooms, but that will be last." Ellie volunteered.

"Right." Matt nodded. "Start with the basement and work our way up?"

"We have to do our room in the garage too." Allison said.

They were in the kitchen again, sitting down and talking. It seemed to be the place that they always met at House realized.

They all seemed content in it and had taken their positions from earlier when the two of them had come back from Adam.

"We can do half and half if we want to." P.J. offered.

"Nah. We'll try and finish the basement today because the garage is full of as much stuff that we'd want as our rooms are." Nicky replied.

Shi sighed. "Okay, then let's start."

"How do we start?"

"Well, we can't do our rooms, the kitchen, or the theater. Bathrooms are pretty much cleaned out." Matt rubbed his forehead and Allison sighed.

"So, basement office, wine cellar and all the amazingly cool games down there?" P.J. offered.

The group thought about it for a minute before shrugging and nodding.

* * *

House sat in the wine cellar with Cameron, Shi, and P.J. watching them go through all the alcohol. It may have been called a wine cellar, but there was more then wine and they were debating who to give what to, if they could give some away as holiday presents and what to use while they were all together.

He felt his phone vibrating and saw SUPER BOY WONDER on the outside. House grabbed his cane and limped out of the ear shot of the family.

"Hey."

"House, I've been trying to reach you for days now, why weren't you answering your phone?" In all truth House had been worried about Cameron and too busy tailing her to pay attention to his phone.

"I didn't want to talk to you. This unrequited love you have for me Jimmy has got to go."

"I'll get right on that House. Cuddy said that Foreman called and told her not to worry about you guys, you were staying with family. The call was lost and he didn't say whose family."

"Cameron's'." It felt weird to say Cameron. He had been wandering around for days thinking of her as Allison.

"You've spent at least a day with her family and you haven't called to tell me? Did you unravel your puzzle yet?"

Yes, he had. The sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach was back with that question. He had figured out his puzzle. Cameron wasn't a puzzle that was meant to be solved. She was sweet, but sour and broken into a million pieces that people had picked up and somewhat messily glued back together.

Yet, she still managed to have a naïve, innocent air about her that shocked him now.

It reminded him of a present he had gotten one year as an intern. He had treated a kid, and his parents had been missing, so he had stayed with the kid. Later on, the kid had made him a sloppy heart with 'thank you' written on it.

The heart had been crookedly cut out. There were sparkles on it, and the kid had out too much glue on it, causing it to rip. It had been wet and sticky but held together precariously. That was what House associated with love. It was a sticky mess. That was the way Allison's heart was.

"House?"

"What?"

"I asked you if you solved your puzzle yet."

"Yeah." House couldn't bring himself to say anything besides that.

"That's all you're going to tell me? I don't even get insight on who is Allison Cameron?"

House thought of the articles he had been able to get off of his computer when he googled Lizzie Kramer.

He had found the pictures that had been splashed across magazine covers after her death. Allison had literally been a child standing there covered in blood. He had seen other articles, one which stayed in his mind, right behind the one about Lizzie's death.

It had been an interview with Lizzie right before she had married P.J. the interview had been done at the house, and about halfway through Allison had burst in home from school. Allison had been ten, the only one still in grade school.

The author of the article had described her as 'an girl with an innocent yet playful nature who was raised right even with the cloud of her mothers star status hanging over her head.'

There was a picture of Allison and Lizzie included in the article. Allison was standing behind her mother, arms wrapped around her neck bright smiles pasted on both faces.

House had felt his heart break a little for the girl in the picture. She was innocent and sweet, only half way to her 'lost child' status that the psychiatrist had given her.

"Nope. I'm not going to tell you the puzzle. I'll give you a hint though, because Foreman and Chase will spill once we get back to PPTH. You tell any of the nurses and your wives will have a lot more to complain about then the fact that you can't keep your pants up. Actually, a lot of New Jersey women will be feeling your pain when you can no longer get it up."

"House-"

"_What?_" He snapped.

"You like her."

"Haven't we already had this conversation Wilson?"

"Yes. You like her. If you didn't like her you wouldn't be threatening me with bodily harm, you would be telling me all you found out."

"Think Kramer. Google it for all I care. Can't talk now, places to go people to see." House hung up before Wilson could psycho analyze him anymore. If he told Wilson that he liked Allison he would have to sit through hours of 'I told you so's', threats from Foreman, jealous looks from Chase, smirks from Cuddy and the general gossip of the nurses.

If anything happened – and at the moment he was waiting for Allison to tell him that she was ready to talk – it would not be something that was broadcasted all over the hospital.

He heard footsteps and turned to see Allison standing there holding a box with bottles of wine in it.

"Hey." Her voice was soft, and her eyes were warm. "I have to go put this upstairs and then-" she paused and took a deep breath. "I think I'm ready to talk about us."

* * *

It's a short one. It was going to be different and then I realized I needed some Wilson in there. So he was. Review! You know whats coming up! 


	23. Chapter 24

So, I'm going on vacation with my dad for a week, which means no internet, which means no fanfiction. I tried to make this chapter longer then usual. I maybe might be able to get another one up before I leave. Can't promise though.

* * *

**Chapter 24: The Talk**

Allison led the way up to her room, House closely behind. Once there she dropped onto the bottom bunk.

Her bunk bed had a bigger bottom bunk that could turn into a couch which it was at the moment. House sat down next to her and she leaned her head back on to couch in exhaustion.

The two sat there for a few minutes in a tense silence.

"How'd we get so screwed up?" Her voice was soft.

House couldn't help but laugh. She was right about how they were screwed up. The tension broke and she smiled at him and let out a laugh.

"I actually have no idea." His hand began to trace random patterns on her leg. "We'll just say that unrequited love is the best kind of love."

"Liar."

"Everybody does."

Allison laughed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"It's true."

"Whatever you say." Allison shifted slightly and House paused for a moment in his random patterns afraid that he had done something wrong, but all Allison did was rest her head on his shoulder.

"So, are we going to talk?" He asked tentatively.

"I dunno. Are we?"

"You can't answer my question with a question."

"I didn't I answered your question and then questioned you."

"But you asked me the same question."

"So?" House refrained from childishly spitting out _sew buttons on your underwear_ back at her.

"You can't do that." He replied instead.

"Says who?"

"Says me." She smirks and House places a gentle kiss on the hand that had moved to hold his.

"I say-" she paused and sighed. "I say we see where this goes and just try and figure it out ourselves."

"And keep it between ourselves?" House mentally crossed his fingers. The whole hospital didn't need to know about their love life.

How their relationship played out would also affect their job.

"Mostly." She nodded.

"Mostly?"

"The second I walk out of this room my family will figure it out."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. That's what they're for." House continued to stare at her and Allison shrugged. "The family" She recited.

"We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. Erma Bombeck."

House laughed. "I can see your family doing all of those things."

Allison grinned back at him cheekily. "And more. We were terrible on some days."

"Just the five of you?"

"Nope. We have P.J. and Mom. And Mary and Dave. Rory and Erin joined in sometimes too."

"What about your dad?"

Allison tensed and her eyes shot to her desk for a half a second which House caught. "Not usually. He had better things to do. Maybe-"

She paused hesitant. "Maybe we should talk again when we get back to Princeton, and decide it we want to tell Cuddy, just so she knows and can heed off anything that may happen because of the two of us." She yawned and House pulled away gently.

"Okay. Why don't you get some sleep?"

"M'kay." He let her lay down and covered her with a blanket. By the time he reached to kiss her forehead she was already sleeping.

House went to her desk. She had obviously wanted something from there, but didn't want him to know, and now he was curious.

There were two drawers on each side of the desk and then one in the middle, long and thin. House started at the bottom and worked his way up.

The bottom drawer on the right was filled with markers, crayons, colored pencils, and an assortment of writing utensils and things you would use to decorate school projects.

The bottom drawer on the right was paper. Colored paper, sketch paper, lined paper. All were blank.

He opened the top drawer on the right and found scrapbooks that she hadn't been able to fit on her bookshelves. There were eight of them, if he counted right. He pulled one out.

'Camp Chi 1983'

The pictures are of Allison and her friends. She was a cute kid. House did the calculations in his head. She would've been about nine. The next seven albums are of Allison getting older each year at camp.

It would interest him on a normal day, but House was more concerned about what she wanted when he mentioned her father.

The next drawer was notebooks. He opened the one on top and realized it was her writing, girly gs and all. They weren't school notebooks but notebooks that were diaries. The one he was holding was from when she was eighteen. He thumbed through it and realized that most of it had to do with Adam.

She mentioned normal kid stuff, but also, she would mention what had happened that day and what he had done to her. House put the diary/notebook away before he got angrier then he already was (he should've killed Adam that day at the beach) or got sick because of the writing.

There were other things, letters from friends and family in the drawer too.

The final drawer was what he would have called a 'crap drawer'. There were random pieces of paper, pens and a bunch of other little things that constituted to him as 'crap'.

House searched in the drawer, and pulled out a letter folded in half. It was addressed to 'Al'.

Al-

Found this poem the other day and thought of you. Couldn't not send it. You'll find it funny but half the others probably won't,

'Razors pain you;  
Rivers are damp;  
Acids stain you;  
And drugs cause cramp.  
Guns aren't lawful;  
Nooses give;  
Gas smells awful;  
You might as well live.  
Dorothy Parker'

I'll see you Friday at our usual spot, right? Try and call me if you can't.

E

House stared at the letter for a long time trying to figure out who 'E' was. He out the letter aside and continued his snooping. Before the day was done, he would figure it out.

Ten minutes and a bunch of crap later, House found what he was looking for. Allison had expertly hidden a pack of cigarettes and a lighter under her desk with magnets.

He took his loot, not including the letter and disappeared down the stairs.

* * *

House appeared downstairs, and went to the kitchen where the family – as he had found usual – had all gathered.

Ellie saw him and grinned. "I've always wanted a non-annoying family member."

House shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not exactly family."

"She calls everyone she likes family." Nicky explained. "You get used to it. And even if you and Allie don't work out, we like you enough to be considered family anyway."

"You've known me for about two days."

Shi turned to look at him. "So? We're fast choosers." There was determination in all of their eyes, and House didn't see a reason to argue with them. Instead, he tossed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter on the table and raised an eyebrow.

"Allie smokes when she is really, really upset. She started when she was eighteen, quit when she was twenty-one. Whenever you have an intense conversation in her room, her eyes automatically go to where the cigarettes are."

"Check the pack." Matt said. "There should be eight left." House did that and raised an eyebrow at the man.

"There are always eight. There have been for years. Allie just keeps the cigarettes 'just in case' but she's never used them."

House shook his head. It was a weird family, but they seemed content with who they were. He stayed down there and talked to them for another hour.

* * *

The sound of footsteps stopped the debate about the best Pink Floyd song House was having with Ellie.

"Hey Allie." She smiled at her family and rubbed her eyes with her fists tiredly.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour and a half. We should be leaving for House of Blues in about another hour."

"Okay." She surveyed the kitchen.

"Where's Shi?"

"She went to shower."

Ellie was dressed and ready to leave. "Yous be next."

"Yous?"

"Yep." Matt grinned at his sister. House was watching the two of them. Shi came down and shook her head.

"So who won the argument?"

"I did." Both people replied at the same time. Allie looked between Ellie and House.

"What argument?"

"Which Pink Floyd song is the best." Allison shook her head. Ellie caught her eye and grinned.

"Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister."

It seemed to mean something to Allison, because she laughed at her. "And Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man."

Nicky saw House's confused look. "White Christmas?" He shook his head.

"Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen." Shi explained. "It's a classic. We'll watch it tonight. It's like a sin or something in this family to have never seen the movie."

"We'll ask the guys if they've seen it when we see them. We'll make it a movie party."

Allie shook her head. "I'm going to shower." She turned to glower at House, something catching her eye. "You stole my cigarettes." Allison grabbed his arm and her cigarettes and left the room.

House steeled himself for her scolding. Maybe, just maybe he would find out who E was too.

* * *

Come on, I'm sure some of you can guess who E is. The lines I stole from White Christmas don't belong to me. And if you haven't seen it you need to. Never mind the fact that it's July. Go. Now. But first, review!  



	24. Chapter 25

So I'm back. A few things (to those who actually read my notes). 1. Sorry if you find this chapter a little depressing. Family reunion was fun, mostly. We found out that my cousin has Lou Gehrig's disease and has five years left to live. She has three kids two, four and seven. So that's where this mood comes from. More rants about family on LJ soon if you care. Second thing about this chapter. It's not a lot of House/Cameron. I wanted to give you more information on her relationship with 'E' so I went in flashbacks. Go Bubbles 1994 for guessing right.

Last thing. I came up with an idea for another fic. Not really sure the details yet, but it goes something like this: A song fic about House/Cameron based on songs that remind us of them. Actual songs may not even be in the chapters. No idea how it's going to work. If you 1. Want to help write, tell me.or 2. Have a song that makes you go 'that's so them' let me know. It might not be up for a little, but I want to start now. Thanks,  
Jess

* * *

**Chapter 25: E and Stuff**

Allison slipped onto the bottom bunk of her bed and wrapped her arms around a pillow.

"Thought you were showering." House sat down next to her.

"When you go through someone's things, next time you should be more careful if you don't want them to find out." Allison nodded to the letter sitting on her desk.

"Not unless you have questions about the things you found while snooping and are hoping to get answers. You would have figured out I was snooping anyway, so what was the point of putting it away?"

"I dunno. Ellie always knew that I read her diary" Her sharp eyes caught his. "– I'm assuming you found those too." House didn't answer, but the look in his eyes said enough. "Anyway, she knew that I read it, and she would move it, but I would always find it. It was almost a game that we used to play. She knew, but I would put it back anyway. It was almost a game."

"But I'm not you, or your sister." House argued. He tugged on Allison until she leaned against him.

"I would be concerned if you were. That would mean I would be either dating my sister or myself." They sat in silence for a little while.

"So, are you going to tell me about the letter?"

Allison shifted a little. "It was from Ethan." She finally mumbled.

"Okay. So E is Ethan, you're Al. But Ethan is-?" House waited, hoping not to hear that he was an old boyfriend. If she kept that note, they were probably close.

"Was."

"Was?" Her body tensed and House stroked her hair.

"I told you that I fell in love when I was in college." Her voice was a whisper. "Everyone assumed that I met him there. I didn't. He was my next door neighbor until Mom died and I moved."

_26 Years Ago_

_Allison Cameron sat on the steps of her front porch with Ellie. They were waiting for some sort of surprise that their mother had for them._

_Although both girls had chalk and were playing hang-man and tick-tac-toe, they were more focused on the moving van sitting in front of the house next door._

"_You two could just go over there and introduce yourselves." _

_Elizabeth Kramer sat on the front steps, and grabbed a piece of chalk filling in the words __**I wish the surprise would get here already**__ in Ellie's hangman box which read I wis e su ise wou get ee already _

"_You took my guess Mom." Allison replied accusingly, instead of talking about what Lizzie was. _

"_Sorry baby." Movers had been in and out of the house all day, and both girls were watching in excitement. The family had yet to show and it was almost dinner time. Based on the furniture they had been making guesses all day. _

_A car pulled up and stopped in front of the neighboring house. Lizzie sat down and both girls perked up._

"_So the last bets were?" She asked her two daughters._

"_I have ten bucks on a boy and two girls, the boy being the youngest and the parents being divorced, and the wife got a lot of money when they settled." Allie replied, her chin now in her hand. "Ellie has ten bucks on two boys a girl, the girl being in the middle, and one of the parents just died and the other made a lot in insurance money. Said alive parent is hoping to start fresh and has moved."_

"_Where do you girl come up with these ideas?" Lizzie asked shaking her head._

"_P.J.'s movies" Allie replied cheekily as Ellie sang out "the tabloids."_

"_What am I going to do with you?" Lizzie stood up and went to greet the new family as two children – a boy and a girl stepped out of the car with both of their parents._

"_Looks like neither of you win." She walked down the driveway and out the gate, typing in the password. _

"_Welcome to Evanston." The group of four turned to look and surprise lit their faces when they realized that they were living next door to Elizabeth Kramer. "I'm Elizabeth Kramer – but you can call me Lizzie. These are my daughters Ellie and Allie. My sons Matt and Nicky are at soccer practice right now."_

_The woman took the hand that she offered. "I'm Margaret Moore but everyone calls me Maggie. This is my husband David and our two children Ethan and Rebecca." Allie and Ellie offered shy 'nice to meet yous' to the Moore children._

"That was the first time we met." There was more to the story, but House wanted to distract her for a second, he was also very curious.

"What was the surprise?"

"Oh." She looked startled. "P.J. was in town. He had just wrapped up a movie and stayed with us for a little. We always loved when he came to visit, still do." House nodded. "You haven't asked me what happened next yet."

"I figured I'd ask tomorrow. Or bug a sibling."

"I'd rather tell you now and get it over with."

_18 years Ago_

_The room was slightly darker then it would be on a normal day, the house was oddly silent and Allison reflected on how much her mother would hate it. The house was always filled with music and laughter. No buts._

_Allison stood silently next to her siblings, eyes on the people in front of her giving their condolence. She really didn't need to hear how sorry these people were. All she wanted to do was go lay in her bed and cry._

"_Allie." She turned and saw the Moore's. _

_Margaret and David were standing in front of her, Ethan and Rebecca a little behind them. Margaret's eyes were red._

"_I'm so sorry baby." Maggie hugged her and so did David. Rebecca followed and Ethan bent to wrap his arms around her._

"_I love you Scout, hang in there." He whispered in her ear. That was when she burst into tears. _

_Scout had been their nickname for her when she used to tag along with him, Nick and Matt. Even though the other two boys were older then him by quite a few years (he was a year older then Allie) they had always let him tag along._

"When I moved, we would try to meet up with each other. About a year later Rebecca was driving drunk and got a warning. She did it a few more times, got caught with drugs once and was arrested. We got in a huge fight about it and didn't speak to each other, but for a while he was my best friend. Life went on, and I went to college."

_15 Years Ago_

"_Room 510… 510, where the hell is it?" Allison muttered as she made her way down the corridor looking at her schedule. _

_Although this was the second semester of college the staff had switched classrooms, and moved the class to a different wing, not giving the class any directions._

_She bumped into someone and looked up startled. "Oh, sorry." He smiled warmly at her. "It's okay." He bent down to help her pick up the books she had dropped._

"_Thanks."_

"_No problem." A hand was offered. "Joe Simmons."_

"_Allison Cameron." _

"_Nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink later? As an apology for bumping into you?"_

_Allison smiled at him. "Seven at Gizmo's?" It was the local bar that the students frequented. _

"_Sure."_

_**Two weeks later**_

"_Allie!" Allison turned to see Joe running towards her. They had quickly become fast friends, but she was meeting some girlfriends at a coffee shop and had to get going._

"_Hey, what's up?"_

"_Actually, I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine." Joe gestured and called to someone who walked towards them._

"_Allie this is Ethan."_

"_Ethan Moore." She interrupted him. Her voice was cool as were her eyes._

"_And if it isn't Scout."_

"_Wait." Joe stared at her. "You're Scout?"_

"_I was." Her smile was sad. "Once upon a time."_

"_That also means you're Elizabeth Kramer's daughter."_

"_That I am. If you two would excuse me though, I have to meet some friends for coffee." Allison disappeared quickly down the hallway._

"Ethan chased me down, apologized to me and eventually I forgave him. We started dating, and one thing led to another. Before I knew it we were married. Two weeks after that he started get a really bad pain in his throat. He ignored it for to long, and by the time I got him to tell me what was wrong and to the doctor, it was too late. He was given six months, he died two weeks later."

Tears were streaming down her face. After all those years it still hurt her to retell the story.

All that time that House had thought that she had married a dying man because he was dying, he had been wrong. She had married him out of love, and the man hadn't told her that he was sick until it was too late.

There was nothing that could be said so House continued to stroke her hair. Abruptly she stood and wiped her eyes.

"I need to shower." House watched her disappear into the bathroom and he stood up, grabbing his cane. He needed some more answers.

_And they accused him of avoiding his problems._

* * *

_So that's it. It's kind of long. Still recovering from vacation. Next one will be some more answers. Review! _


	25. Chapter 26

** Next chapter. Starting school on the 22, so the updates will be slower.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 26: Who You'd Be Today**

House limped back down the stairs and back to the family. He needed more answers.

"And he's back." Shi sang out.

"And he looks confused." Matt commented.

"I got some answers which led to more questions."

"Ah. You talked about Ethan and then Allie brushed you off and disappeared." PJ summarized.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" House looked between the five of them.

"Allie _hates_ talking about Ethan." Nicky explained. "And when I say hate, I mean absolutely despises. After he died we barely brought it up." She hopped off the counter and grabbed House's wrist.

"Twenty says she's not going to come straight downstairs." House obediently followed hoping to get some sort of answers to the questions he wasn't sure how to ask.

* * *

House sat in the recording studio looking between Ellie and Shi. Matt, Nicky and PJ had stayed downstairs.

"What exactly are we doing?"

"Waiting." Ellie replied.

"Waiting on what exactly?"

"The world to change" Shi deadpanned before she softened slightly. "We know each other ridiculously well, which I guess is good because we're related. Old habits die hard. Allie has traditions- we all do- and this is one of them."

Ellie nodded. "Ethan was her best friend before the fight. Mom always used to joke that they would get married one day. When they had their fight- it was like we lost part of Allie. And there was everything with Adam going on- it was terrible. When Ethan came back it was great to see them together, but too soon we found out about the cancer and then he was gone."

House wasn't sure how to react, and they sat in silence for a few minutes. The sound of footsteps startled him and he saw Allison walking into the ballroom tentatively.

House realized that he could hear what was going on in the ballroom, but Allison apparently didn't know that they were in the recording studio. If she did know, she didn't care.

"Mom had this built so that she could be in here, but still be able to watch/hear us when we were in the ballroom."

Allison began to play the piano and Ellie tapped his shoulder. "Listen to the words." She instructed. "Really listen."

"_Sunny days seem to hurt the most  
Wear the pain like a heavy coat  
I feel you everywhere I go  
I see your smile, I see your face  
I hear you laughing in the rain  
Still can't believe you're gone_"

Allison's voice was quiet, but louder then the piano. The pain in her voice though- that was very strong.

"_It ain't fair you died too young  
Like a story that had just begun  
But death tore the pages all away  
God knows how I miss you  
All the hell that I've been through  
Just knowing no one could take your place  
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today"_

And there is was. The husband who had died too soon. They had been in their twenties. That was too young to lose anyone you loved. Especially the husband you thought that you would spend the rest of your life with.

And her mother. Allison had been only 15. Just a child. And she had been a child in the public eye and then gone through hell and back.

"_Would you see the world?  
Would you chase your dreams?  
Settle down with a family?  
I wonder, what would you name your babies?"_

Her voice caught and House wanted to go out and sit at the piano with her. Hug her, kiss her, do a bunch of un-Houselike things and make her forget about Ethan and Lizzie.

"_Some day's the sky's so blue  
I feel like I can talk to you  
And I know it might sound crazy_

_It ain't fair you died too young  
Like a story that had just begun  
But death tore the pages all away  
God knows how I miss you  
All the hell that I've been through  
Just knowing no one could take your place  
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today_

_Today, today, today,  
Today, today, today_

_Sunny days seem to hurt the most  
I wear the pain like a heavy coat  
The only thing that gives me hope  
Is I know I'll see you again someday  
Someday, someday"_

House watched in astonishment as Allison finished the song and let her head rest on the piano as she broke into a million pieces.

* * *

He didn't notice Ellie and Shi leave, he didn't notice the way the bent their heads together and whispered. His main concern was getting to Allison.

He slipped into the ballroom and she looked up at the sound of his cane on the hardwood floor.

"Hey."

She didn't smile at him, just stared for a second before nodding and standing. Her eyes had a sheen of tears and she took a few steps until they were face to face. He wondered if she was going to yell at him- say anything at all.

"Should've figured that they would take you up here." Her voice was soft but thick. House wasn't sure what to say. He didn't think that he could come up with a snarky comment if he wanted to.

House's hand went out and gently traced her face with his finger. Allison lifted her arm and caught his hand in her own.

"How do you make it stop?" Her voice was a mere whisper.

"Make what stop Allie?" He had grown so used to hearing her nickname and using it in his head that it slipped out easily. It drew a brief smile from her.

"How do you make the hurt stop?" With that the tears overflowed. House had no idea how to answer her.

On their own accord his arms wrapped around her. _How do you make the hurt stop?_ Even after 10 years she still didn't know. And after five without Stacey (and his leg) he was just as lost as she was.

He wasn't sure which was worse. Having your husband die two weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer or having your girlfriend have your thigh muscle remove leaving you permanently crippled.

House thought of their childhoods. His with his fathers' hours of torture and hers with the happiness until she was raped, abused and ignored. And then her husbands death and Stacey's betrayal. Maybe they were more alike then he had ever thought.

"I don't know."

They were broken pieces. He pictured a jagged heart. They were broken, but maybe they could put each other back together.

* * *

So another chapter that wasn't very happy. Song was Who You'd Be Today by Kenny Chesney.

I came up with an idea for another fic. Not really sure the details yet, but it goes something like this: A song fic about House/Cameron based on songs that remind us of them. Actual songs may not even be in the chapters. No idea how it's going to work. If you 1. Want to help write, tell me.or 2. Have a song that makes you go 'that's so them' let me know. It might not be up for a little, but I want to start now. Thanks,  
Jess

Review!


	26. Chapter 27

So here's the next chapter. (Finally). Sorry that it took so long. I think that it's starting to wind down. I don't know how I want to end it, but I know how I want to start the sequel. If you guys want a sequel. let me know. Sorry that it's short.

* * *

**Chapter 26: Rules**

Allison stayed in House's arms for a little as she broke down. House had no words, just stroked her back and swayed a little in a comforting motion.

"I hate to interrupt this lovely moment, but we _really_ have to go."

Allison snorted. "Can't we ditch?"

Ellie grinned and walked over to her sister. Allison pulled out of Houses embrace long enough to hug her sister.

"Nope, afraid not. You go find the guys; we're stealing House and kicking you out of the car."

"That's not very nice."

"Well, it sucks to be you. We have rules to lie down, and you know the rules about the rules."

"You have rules about rules?" House looked between the siblings.

"Yep. We also have rules about the rules about the rules." Ellie replied.

Shi snorted. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Does too."

"Really? Think about it."

Ellie shrugged. "So maybe it doesn't, c'mon let's go."

Allison grabbed House's hand and followed her siblings out of the room.

"I want to ride with you guys." She pouted.

"Sorry Al, on the way home." Matt was on the foot of the stairs grinning at her. Allie let go of House's arm and stopped on a step. Matt laughed and held out his arms obligingly.

To Greg's surprise, she jumped into Matt's arms and he caught her.

"You two are – ridiculous."

PJ commented from the first floor, looking up to see his step-children.

"Quite possibly, but you love us anyway." Allison grinned at him tiredly and walked down the last few steps to hug PJ.

She seemed better then she was after talking about Ethan, but House watched carefully as each family member swept her into their embrace and whispered in her ear.

Allison was smiling at them and he felt Shi tugging on his arm.

"Lets go. You have some rules to agree to."

* * *

House climbed into the car and looked at the two women expectantly. 

"I'm only going to explain once, so pay attention." Ellie warned.

"We're going to give you our rules, and the guys will back us up. They're not going to say anything to you about the rules, - unless you break one - but they know what they are. Allie doesn't. PJ doesn't. Only the siblings know what the rules are. Don't ask why not, it's just the way things are. Got it?"

House nodded and Shi turned to look at him. "There are only three rules, and they're simple actually."

"Rule number one" Ellie began "You hurt her we kill you. Get it, got it, good."

"Number two" Shi smiled at him "there will not be a lot of PDA in front of us. We get irritated easily if we're trying to do something and the two of you are sitting together playing tonsil hockey. Very annoying. We usually end up throwing things. Gets violent."

House met both of their eyes steadily. "And the third?"

"We'll quote, you assume. Don't be an ass."

"Okay." House merely raised an eyebrow. "Hit me." Shi reached out and smacked him.

"Oh?" She mocked surprise. "Not what you meant? Sorry."

House groaned. "Get used to it." Ellie advised. "You may think you know Allie, but that's only work-Allie. Real-Allie is worse then Shi. Actually, Allie taught Shi everything she knows now."

The younger girl smiled at him. "I learned from the best."

"Rule three?" House prompted.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "This is the one you need to remember."

Shi nodded. "Rule number three, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels." House stared at Shi for a moment before he blinked slowly.

"That's not a rule."

"It's a quote actually, Faith Whittlesy."

"But not a rule."

"So it's not exactly a rule, but think for a minute."

"Am I Fred Aistaire? Is Allie Ginger Rogers? How the hell does that even work?" House shook his head at the Cameron siblings.

"You could be." Shi acknowledged. "Don't treat Allie any different because she's a woman. Sure be chivalrous, if you really want to, but she can take care of herself. We hate coddling actually."

Ellie nodded. "'Specially after Ethan died. She hated everyone asking her if she was okay, of course she wasn't her husband had just died. But that's not the point. She worked hard to get where she was, and nothing is going to change that. Suddenly because she's your girlfriend, you're not allowed to play favorites."

"Are you my boss? Because you sound like her." He resisted adding something about her fun bags. House really doubted Allie would appreciate that. Ellie smiled serenely at him.

"Nope. I'm not necessarily talking about work. People take one look at Allie and dismiss her. They see any sadness in her eyes? Poor little rich girl whose daddy gave her money and cars, but not that God damn pony she wanted." Ellie was struggling to explain herself, but House was getting a clearer picture.

"She had to fight her way for everything. Getting away from Adam, going to college, med school, growing up with Mom and PJ as parents. Nothing in life was really easy except for money. So, when things are easy for her there's always some suspicion about why it's so easy. Maybe, it's not right when it's not easy. That's why she didn't give up the first time you told her she was lobby art."

House was surprised that she knew about that, but he wasn't sure why. It seemed like the siblings told each other everything.

"What I'm trying to say is – she's not going to break if you look at her funny. Sure, life's been a bitch but if we had let ourselves go the first time something bad had happened we would have been dead a long time ago."

House nodded. "Got it." And in a way, he did. There was so much more to Allison Cameron then he had ever thought of the first day she had walked into his office.

"So House, tell us something interesting." Shi was obviously trying to get onto a lighter topic.

He smiled at the young girl and did something that he hadn't done in years. "It's Greg."

Then, he opened his mouth and did something else he hadn't done in years.

"I have a plan, but I need your help."

* * *

Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels.  
-Faith Whittlesy- 

There you have it. Expect a few more chapters. Review!

Jess


	27. Chapter 28

**You can thank my step-dad for this chapter. I got home from my dad's house and he was in the computer room sorting bills because my mother and him aren't speaking. Anyway, I can't read with people just sitting there and half watching me, so I wrote about a chapter and a half. Hope you like it. **

* * *

**Chapter 27: Surprise**

Dinner was fairly uneventful. Mary and Dave showed up and surprised the Cameron siblings – who were too busy laughing to try and explain the family relation to Foreman and Chase.

Once they had gotten back to the house, the Cameron children had voted and decided that White Christmas (which neither Chase nor Foreman had seen) would be for tomorrow, as it was one in the morning.

Chase and Foreman disappeared almost immediately, and Cameron hung back waiting for House. He smiled gently at her and brushed some hair out of her face.

"I'll be upstairs soon Allie." It was the first time that he had ever called her Allie, and she smiled at him.

"Does this mean that I should start calling you Greg?"

Her tone was teasing but he smiled. "You can if you want to. As long as Wombat and Blackie aren't around. They might want equal rights and well-"

House wrinkled his nose. "- That would just be odd." Allison giggled and kissed his cheek. When House was sure that she was upstairs he turned to the siblings ready to put his plan in motion.

* * *

"Allie." Greg sat up and pulled her to him gently. When he had slipped into bed about a half hour after her (Neither wanted to try and make it to the top bunk) she had slid her body against his.

"No."

"Come on, it's time to get up." House pulled the blankets from her body – a trick that Nicky had told him worked every time.

"Whdewemhavtagemumph?"

"What?"

Allison lifted her face from the pillow slightly. "Why do we have to get up?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"I can't tell you." House swung his body off the bed and grabbed his cane before turning to face Allison. "If I told you I'd have to kill you."

"Liar."

"Nope. That's the truth."

"I have siblings. They would be unhappy with you. Maybe they would kill you."

"They can't." House didn't add that they were in on the plan. It would ruin things slightly if he did.

"Why not?"

"Stop asking questions. I'm not going to give you answers." House sighed out.

"Please. Just a hint?" Allison turned puppy-dog eyes on him and Greg looked away.

"No." She stepped closer to him until their bodies were practically touching.

House knew that he should step away, but didn't. Allison stood on her toes and House bent a little so that they were face to face. She kissed him, her non-broken arm wrapping around his neck. House held onto his cane with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist to keep them steady.

She kissed him slowly and pulled away. "Tell me."

House laughed. "Oh, so you're one of those girls? Nope. No answers you tease."

"Please?"

"No, come on. We have places to go, people to see, things to do."

"But I wanna know what the surprise is."

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"So?"

"Nope. Get dressed, we're leaving."

* * *

House led a blindfolded Allison down the street near the beach. Matt was there waiting for them and grinned at House before picking up his sister.

She let out a screech and the two laughed. "Allie, it's just me."

"And you couldn't give me warning Matt?"

"Nope. That's not as much fun." He carried her up the rocks. Shi was standing next to him and turned to House eyes serious.

"Climbing these is hard with two legs. I'll help you."

House opened his mouth to protest, but Shi just glared at him.

"I'll tell you what Allie used to tell me. We can do this your way or my way, and my way is easier. Eventually I will get you to do it my way, so wouldn't you just want to start off doing it my way and save yourself a load of trouble?"

He sighed and popped a few Vicodin, not even noticing that he was still on his first bottle. With things to occupy him he didn't need them as much.

When he was at home alone he took the drugs for as much mental pain as physical. Here with Allie he had other things to think about.

He turned to Shi and she slipped under one of his arms. "Follow my lead."

House shook his head. _The things that he did for his girl._

* * *

It actually hadn't taken them that long to get to the top of the rocks and down to the spot Allie had told him about.

Shi had been right about it being easier with her to help him over the rocks – but he would never admit that.

Allie was standing there arguing with her siblings. She made a funny sight in jeans, a red Washington DC sweatshirt and a blindfold which was actually one of PJ's old ties.

Her hands were on her hips and her lips were pursed – or would be if it weren't for the fact that she was talking.

"Is this one of those moments where you turn into Rory and Erin and say 'I want to know, and I want to know now. And that's final?'" Nicky questioned.

"Would it work?" Allison asked.

House shook his head even though she couldn't see him. "I leave you alone for one minute and already you're trying to con the surprise out of them?"

"Yes. I want to know. They're related to me. They're supposed to tell me everything."

House grinned at the siblings who were all sitting on the ground. "Maybe we should just leave you standing there in the blindfold."

"Nah." Ellie shook her head. "That's kninky. And what did we say about PDA? That's way to much even if she's just standing there in her blindfold."

Shi shook her head. "Way to much information. Like _waayyy _too much information."

House looked between them in confusion. "I thought-"

"We forgot that part." Shi sighed. "Allie knows the first two rules because they're always the same. The third one is always different."

"Can someone take the blindfold off?" It was tied in an unyielding knot in the back of her head that was impossible for her to untie by herself.

PJ smiled. "I have to say that I always hated that tie."

It was black and had pink flamingoes on it and the Cameron children cringed every time they looked at it.

"Why do you have it then?" House asked.

"My Aunt sent it to me. I couldn't throw it out or I would never have heard the end of it from my family."

"He had to wear it to Thanksgiving one year." House was working on the knot and grinned at Allison's voice.

She sounded a lot calmer now that she knew he was untying her. Slowly he pulled the blindfold away from her face and she turned to him, a brilliant smile on her face full of love and joy.

"You didn't."

"I did." She kissed him and then let her body wrap around his in a hug.

House looked at the picnic that they had set up at the breakfast spot. The sun would be rising soon, and they would be eating and laughing – something that Allison hadn't done in years.

* * *

There you go. Let me know what you think.

Jess


	28. Chapter 29

Here's the next chapter. The fic is winding down. A few more chapters I think.

* * *

**Chapter 29: Picnic**

The sun was rising and House leaned against the oak tree Allison balanced between his legs.

"You just made my year I think." His arms were wrapped around her waist and she was leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Glad I could help." She twisted to look him in the eye.

Their voices were quiet, because of the company they had, but House didn't care if they heard. He had known them for four days and felt like part of the family.

"I'm serious Greg. You have no idea how much this means to me." She kissed him and House pulled her closer to him.

"Watch the PDA!" House heard Ellie yell. Allison pulled away and sighed.

"We don't _have_ to listen to them ya'know." House licked his lips and she shifted closer to him if that was at all possible.

"If we don't we get things chucked at us. It's violent. Very, very violent. Trust me." She settled back against him deciding that she couldn't get any closer and the sky changed to hues of pink, orange and red as the sun drifting over the lakes horizon.

"I can't believe we're leaving soon."

It was true. The conference had been scheduled for eight nights and seven days and they were on days five of seven. They had come in on Sunday night and were leaving Sunday morning, so tomorrow was the last full day that they had in Chicago.

"We have all of tomorrow."

PJ turned. "You could take the jet home if you want. I'm going to stay for an extra day with Shi. Matt can fly home with you guys. Ellie and Nicky aren't leaving until I do so they can fly with me."

"PJ-"

"Take the jet Allie."

"But-" She started.

"Lee, just take the jet."

She glared at him a pout on her face. "Fine. We'll take the jet."

"Thank you." He resumed his conversation with Nicky and when Allie childishly stuck her tongue out at him he responded by raising a finger in the air.

"Eyes in the back of my head Lee, eyes in the back of my head."

"Lee?" House questioned her.

He had been meaning to ask her about that earlier, but had never gotten around to it. Other things had gotten in his way. Like Allison going to see Adam and almost dying. That had been a bit more important then her nickname of Lee.

"Allison. He took the middle of my name – Li and it became my nickname for the most part."

"For the most part?" This was better then conferences by a lot, but he was still learning – just not like Cuddy had hoped.

Allison was far more interesting then any disease.

"You ever heard the song 'Yes Sir, That's My Baby?'"

"Yeah." Of course he knew it. It was one of the first songs he had learned on piano.

"When PJ isn't calling me Lee, Allie, or when I was younger – Allison Elizabeth Cameron get your ass down here right now-"

House cut her off because he had started laughing. "You in trouble?"

"I was a trouble maker sometimes. You underestimate me. Really, truly." She hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"She was." Matt turned his head. "She never fought with mom or PJ, or really any of us, but boy could she get into it with the kids at school."

"They thought that I was snotty because of who my parents were. So I fought."

"And packed a punch." PJ added.

"I only broke a kid's nose _once_."

"You only ever got in what – two fights?" Nicky pointed out.

"_YOU?_" House looked like a fish out of water his mouth open and gaping. He wasn't sure which statement to address first. The fact that she had ever gotten in a fight or the fact that she had broken a kids nose.

She smiled at the shocked expression.

"I told you. I was mad. He was a jerk. He called Mom a whore because she was famous and marrying PJ or something – I don't even remember - just that I punched him hard enough to break his nose. PJ taught me how. We both got in trouble because he provoked me, but I shouldn't have punched him. I wasn't always the good girl."

If he squinted his eyes and thought really hard he could place her as a 'trying to be bad girl'. It didn't matter how much he learned about her. Allison Cameron was so sweet she could almost give someone cavities. No one – not even Adam –could change that.

The siblings and PJ once again returned to their separate conversations and the two of them resumed theirs.

"As I was saying – when he wasn't calling me by my other names I was 'baby' or 'my baby'. When I couldn't sleep at dads I would call him and he would sing me back to sleep with 'Yes Sir, That's My Baby' or 'I'll See You In My Dreams'."

House smiled at the song choices, but he could see a fifteen or sixteen year old Allison curled up on a bed listening to PJ sing her back to sleep. If nightmares plagued her sleep some now, then they were probably at full force back then as well.

"Quite a support system you've got going."

"We do okay when the going gets tough."

"Don't you get going then?" House recalled the quote vaguely.

"When the going get tough the tough get going is the original saying and song, it's Billy Ocean. Ours is when then going gets tough we get tougher."

It fit well – almost to well. He could see the Cameron children grinning and bearing anything that came towards them as they tried to get tougher.

"I like it." The two sat in comfortable silence as they watched the sun fully rise.

* * *

Ellie, Nicky, Matt, Shi and Allison had decided that they wanted to walk in the sand for a little before they went back and House and PJ were left sitting by the tree and the picnic stuff.

"You're dating my daughter." House looked at PJ. He was staring off into the distance watching the siblings dance around.

"Yes." House wasn't sure what else to say, so he kept it simple.

PJ nodded. "The Crew-" House grinned at the nickname for his step-kids "has probably already given you the rules. But, I have to be the over protective father."

House nodded. Sure, their family was dysfunctional. Some might even say it went beyond dysfunctional – but they were a family and PJ would protect his daughter.

"Now, I can't threaten to kill you because that would never happen. If it did Lee would kill me. I can however, threaten you with severe pain and bodily harm." PJ's voice was calm, and House knew that he was telling the truth.

"I can't promise her a life of fairy tales and frolicking through daisies. I can promise that I will try my hardest not to hurt her."

House met PJ's eyes. His confession was completely out of character, but it was true.

PJ nodded. "I think that if Lee ever started frolicking through daisies someone in this family would send her to therapy. We're not exactly the frolicking type."

House tried to picture the Allison that Cameron had become with her siblings and realized that all of his perceptions where different. The 'true' Allie wasn't the kind to go frolicking.

"So maybe you're not."

"Well, neither are you so we're okay in that department. All I'm asking is that I don't get a call with Lee in tears because of something you did. Because I can grantee that I'll take my plane up to New Jersey right away."

"I'll take care of her."

PJ nodded. "That's all I'm asking."

"Greg!" House turned to Allison. He watched in astonishment as she went into a one handed cartwheel and flipped up to grin at him.

His heart had stopped for a minute when he had seen her start the cartwheel.

He could just see all the problems she would have if she put her body weight onto her arm with the cast. House could already hear the older siblings scolding her. Shi was laughing.

"She's going to be the death of me, isn't she?" House wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question or if it was directed at PJ. He didn't expect an answer though, and was surprised to see the man nodding his head.

"That's what I said about Lizzie. Don't worry though; you'll love ever minute of it. That's the way they are."

* * *

I own nothing.

See You in My Dreams - Giant

When The Goin' Gets Tough - Billy Ocean

Yes Sir, That's My Baby - Gus Kahn


	29. Chapter 30

Here. Sorry for the wait. My school now owns me.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Truths**

The Cameron's, House and PJ had managed to get back into the house while Foreman and Chase were still sleeping.

For that he was grateful. It was one thing to be with Allie, PJ, Shi, Matt, Ellie, and Nicky, but it was entirely different to tell his other two subordinates that he was dating the woman that he had denied his feelings for, for years.

Especially because of everything that they would have to put up with once the news got out.

The teasing, the gossip, the 'big brother' warnings from Foreman the jealous looks from Chase, the concerned looks from Wilson and Cuddy and the advice that they would try to give Allison.

"So, White Christmas?" The family had finally gotten around to watching the movie (Chase and Foreman had never seen it either.)

"Tradition. My family has a lot of them, trust me. And Christmas is always interesting with us. It's Hanukah too, so it's always crazy when the two line up and fall on the same days. We watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and Christmas Vacation and some others while we string popcorn and Miracle on 34th Street and White Christmas are reserved for Christmas Eve when we wrap presents, because we love to do things at the last minute. The Sound of Music is a favorite, and when I say favorite, I mean we love it more then White Christmas and can quote and reenact the entire movie. Although, I don't know how it became a Christmas movie. And, the music starts around Thanksgiving. We have a tendency to sing, and dance and be crazy."

"I bet." House stroked lazy patterns on her back.

Watching the movie had certainly been interesting. Every song was accompanied by the Cameron's singing and random facts that they had gained over the years.

'Sisters' had been hilarious, because Matt and Nicky had acted out the second one perfectly in-tune with the movie. But, his favorite parts had been watching the older four harmonize to 'Snow' and sing 'White Christmas' at the end.

"Christmas is always at my Aunt's house. Annie's crowd is always interesting."

"Annie?" He knew her immediate family, but that was it. And they were a crowd within themselves.

"My cousin's Molly and Veronica couldn't say Aunt Anne for some reason, so they just called her Annie instead and it stuck. They're my cousins on my Dad's side, his oldest sister Holly's kids. He's the youngest out of the three of them." She shook her head.

"Anyway, she has a Christmas tree party about two weeks before Christmas which is a bunch of family and friends getting together and decorating a massive tree that they have in the backyard. We drink hot chocolate or eggnog and decorate and sing, and you would probably hate it, but its tradition. 'Santa' always comes to that, and my aunt usually has about ten dogs running around."

House laughed. "And what about Christmas Eve?"

Allison shook her head.

"That's only the family then, we get together, exchange presents and stuff. My aunt has these Twelve Days of Christmas cups and everyone gets one and we sing the song – singing the cup that we have. It's interesting because usually one person can't get the rhythm of their words right. So, we spend the entire song trying to teach them how to sing 'five golden rings'."

House snorted and she smiled at him. "Something always happens. If the house isn't on fire, then the grandparents are missing, or someone cut their foot on glass, or the tree almost fell over, or someone is pregnant."

Greg stared at her for a moment in stunned silence. "What?"

"I told you, Christmas is always interesting."

"I'm still stuck on setting the house on fire."

"Annie can't cook. At all. Usually my Uncle does it, but he went to see something, and asked her to put the brisket in the oven. It was new, and they hadn't taken the directions out yet, the directions caused a fire – and well, it wasn't very pretty."

She shook her head. The family stories ranged from that to the time that she had set the microwave on fire when she was seven, but she wasn't going to tell him that. A few years after those two incidents Shi had been about seven also and had burned her arm on the stove making grilled cheese. At most family gatherings the three were kept out of the kitchen with 'remember what happened last time?'

"The year the grandparents went missing – well, they got lost and ended up at a Walgreen's. The cosmetic department called my aunt to go and get them. Matt was running from Molly one year and split his foot open. Had to go to the hospital on Christmas Eve. That was fun."

The two shared a moment as doctors. Holidays were always filled with the bumbling idiots who hurt themselves and had to go to the ER. All interns had to work at least two or three rounds on some holiday. It was probably one of the most dreaded things.

"Who was your step-mom pregnant with?" House asked.

He immediately assumed that it was Kimberly, because no one else would have had the same infliction of contempt when Allie mentioned someone being pregnant.

She stiffened slightly and turned to him.

"Kimberly is our fathers' wife."

Greg raised an eyebrow that she couldn't see and waited for an explanation.

"Being a stepparent means that you love the kids no matter what – that they become a part of your family – that it doesn't matter that they aren't yours by birth or by blood, but that the love is unconditional, 100 all of the time. With PJ it's there, it's always been there. With Kimberly it's not."

"You mentioned at Wishbone-" House didn't know how to phrase it.

"That she's an alcoholic. Yep. She didn't really start heavily drinking until after Shi was born. She had problems when Erin and Rory were born, but everything seemed to be blamed on Shi. She was overweight for many years, and always blamed it on Shi. She was never wanted."

"Earlier you said that it was better that Kimberly didn't love Shi, that she'd be better off without her." House pointed out.

"But sometimes all you want is a parent to love you. WE love her more then life itself, but we're her siblings. You need a parents love otherwise-"

"Otherwise what?"

"You end up like us. Crying over centrifuges and hating people."

Greg hid a smile. She seemed to remember all of their conversations – as did he. Then he sighed. "Maybe. But that's just you two. I'm perfectly well adjusted and good."

"Sure you are. And pigs can fly."

"Can they?"

"Admit it Greg." She had been there when his parents had been there. She had seen his reaction to them, seen how he had stiffened. Like she had when she had seen Adam.

He probably hadn't been raped, but that didn't mean that he wasn't damaged. There were different ways to damage people.

Words could hurt as much as actions, and actions could hurt. The people who said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?' They had no idea what they were talking about.

He paused. There were so many things that he could say. The truth, the lies that had become the truth. The real truth. The one few people knew. And he made the decision. She had told him everything after all. A dam burst.

"He was a bastard to us. The house was run like it was part of the military, only harsher. He was in the military, you know that. He didn't know what to do with us. One of the messages that you learn early on in any part of the military is 'be strong'. It doesn't matter who you are, hold your chin up high, suck in your tears and move on. That doesn't mean don't show your pain, but when the chips are down, they get back up."

House paused and Allison stroked his arm reassuringly.

"I would sleep outside it I got so much as a 'B' on a test, whipped if I forgot to make my bed, there were days I went without dinner, and sometimes ice baths were forced on me. My mother never did anything, just stood by and told me that my dad was doing it for the best. That if I just behaved how he wanted me to it would all be okay."

House felt her hand touch his face and he realized that it was wet – not with his tears though- hers.

He had never had anyone cry about what he had gone through, and Allison's experience had been more painful then his, and had almost made him physically ill, but here was this amazingly strong woman shedding tears over the pain that he had gone through.

"It's okay. I get it. You don't have to explain anymore." Greg wrapped his arms around her and the two fell into a deep sleep – if not completely peaceful.

* * *

"Greg? Are you awake?" Allison had her head resting on his chest still. She half hoped that he was still sleeping.

"I'm awake Allie, what's up?"

She paused there was really no gentle way to phrase what she was about to say. "Remember when I told you that we couldn't do anything about Adam?"

"Yes." He tightened his grip on her. Adam may have over the years become a dull, aching wound that throbbed every once and a while but for him it was still a fresh wound, and probably would be for a very long time.

"I didn't tell you the whole truth."

What could be worse? House wondered. Had he gotten her pregnant? Infected her with an STD? Hurt her in another way? He was going to kill Adam; he didn't care what happened to him.

How was a woman that beautiful and amazing that broken?

She took a deep breath. She had never told anyone this. Ever.

It was something that she had kept from even Shi. Because the truth hurt. That was why people lied. To themselves, to others, to the whole world. Because when you told someone else the truth you had to first admit it to yourself.

"I went to the police once."

* * *

There you go. Hopefully more up soon. Reviw

Jess

Quote from: Fidelity

**House**: You can't be that good and well-adjusted.  
**Dr. Cameron**: Why?  
**House**: Because you wind up crying over centrifuges.  
**Dr. Cameron**: Or hating people...


	30. Chapter 31

So there are a lot of things I could say about this chapter. First off, it should probably be rated M. I sat down and wrote this the way I saw it, but some people might find it to - intense for lack of a better word. It contains a description of rape, but not an insanely graphic one. Okay, so that's my warning. It's short, but I didn't want to add anything else to it, because it wouldn't have flowed right to me.

* * *

**Chapter 31: The Whole Truth**

House was stunned into silence for a minute.

She had gone to the police. And yet Adam was still roaming the streets, and Shi had been hurt in that same way that Allison had.

There were so many questions he had, so many things that he could ask her, but there was one that he couldn't get out of his mind. Two actually.

_If she had told the police why the hell had nothing happened?_

And then there was his second question that he knew would be easier for her to answer.

"When?"

"The-" she paused and swallowed and then turned and buried her head into his chest. "The first time. The morning after."

She paused and House gathered her tighter in his arms. "It's okay" he whispered. "I got you."

Allie didn't answer him for a long while, but House just lay next to her and soothingly rubbed her back.

She would tell him when she was ready, and not a minute before that. He could wait. The fact that she had started to speak at all meant something to him.

"The night had started off normal – meaning that I was babysitting Rory and Erin. Tom and Kimberly were out, and Shi wasn't known about yet. They were at a wedding. Two of his old college friends, Mark and Gina. Anyway, Adam showed up."

Her arms wrapped tighter around him if that was possible and she shivered against an invisible chill. House pulled the blankets around them tighter.

"It was about two months after Mom died. He was drunk. Completely wasted – staggering around, slurring his words, the whole deal. He asked if I needed any help with the girls and I told him no, that I had it. I didn't want him near them when he was like that. And I never really liked him."

House understood the feeling. There were just some people that made you look at them a little harder, the ones that you made sure were never left alone with certain people.

"He had always scared me a little. Adam was always the Uncle who hugged you a little too long, whose arms were a little lower then everyone else's and who wasn't always looking at your eyes when you were talking to him. He always called me Princess too. I always hated that nickname. That's when it happened."

Her voice cracked slightly – pain like that and memories still hurt to talk about.

"He shoved me against the wall. I was in the kitchen and the two of them were watching a movie. I was making some popcorn. Aladdin actually, they were at A Whole New World. It's funny the little things that you remember. I was wearing my pajama's, to big pants, a cami and a sweatshirt over it. I had just given the girls a bath, and they had splashed a lot so my hair was wet. I hadn't gotten contacts yet so I had my glasses on."

Allie was rambling, but House didn't try to stop her.

"I was up against the wall and he pinned my arms. I couldn't move at all. I tried to scream, but he slapped my and then told me if I screamed he would kill me. Obviously he wasn't as drunk as I thought. He raped me in the middle of the kitchen against the island while I made popcorn and then told me that if I told anyone he would kill me. I didn't say anything. He must have seen it in my eyes that I didn't care what happened to me, because he told me that he would have to take the rest of his anger out on Rory and Erin."

She was crying now, tears slipping down her face. House gripped her tighter and fought the need to vomit.

"The next day I got up early and went to the police. There was no way I was going to listen to Adam. He was going to go to jail. No matter what. Back then I didn't listen to anyone except Mom and PJ. And Tom sometimes, because he was scary when he got really angry."

I walked in and asked to talk to a detective. His name was Steven Baker and he had gone to high school with Kimberly and Adam. He used to come over for dinner with his wife sometimes. They had a son that was Matt's age."

I didn't think of that. Didn't think to care that he had known them for years. I was just glad that it was a familiar face, not some stranger I had to talk to. He took my clothes from the night before, but Adam had me take a shower before he left and used a condom. There was no physical evidence on me except for two hand shaped bruises."

I told him the whole story, everything I remembered. He kept asking me questions and saying 'I don't believe he could do something like that.' That should have been my first clue, but it wasn't. He held me while I cried."

I left and that night I was home alone. Tom and Kimberly were out again – Rory had a school thing, but I had too much homework and got to stay home. The bell rang and I went to answer it. It was Steven and Adam."

Her thin shoulders were shaking by then and she was struggling to control her breathing.

"I – I had no idea why they were there together. Steven asked if they could come in. I figured that it would be safe to let them both in because Steven would protect me from Adam."

Her voice dropped lower and House had to strain to hear it.

"I was so stupid. I don't know why I trusted him. I never should have. It was so stupid." Her head was buried in his chest and there was nothing that he could do except hold her and let her finish the story of what had happened.

"We went inside and Adam – he said that he told me not to tell. That – that he had told me -" she drew a shaky breath "- that he was going to kill me if I told. And I hadn't listened. But he had a different idea about how I could make it up to him. He said that I had to make it up to Steven also for wasting his time. For being a liar. Because I wanted everything that was coming to me. I was asking for it."

She was quiet for a moment, regaining her strength.

"I didn't cry the first time. I don't remember crying at least. I remember waiting for it to be over and thinking of what I would say when I told the police. I didn't want Erin and Rory to hear me. I was afraid for them.

I cried the second time though. With Steven and Adam there. It was the worst time. People always say that the first time is the worst time, but for me – with the two of them there. I had nightmares about that night for months. I still do have them sometimes. They-" she was unable to continue and lost it completely in his arms.

House didn't know what else to do except hold her. No 'its okays'' would make it better. He was holding a woman who had been violated in the worst way possible and then had her trust taken away from her.

Yet she was amazing. Strong, beautiful, trusting and nice with sarcasm and wit. And she was his. Completely his. Just like he was hers.

He knew there was more to the story, the part that told him exactly what they had done to her – but he didn't need to hear it and he could tell it wasn't something that she wanted to relive.

The only thing that he could do was hold her until she fell asleep and the early morning light trickled in.

For a long time House stayed awake, just thinking.

* * *

Let me know what you though,

Jess


	31. Chapter 32

So, apologies for how long it took and if I didn't respond to your comment. I will next time, I promise. Thanks to all of you who reviewed. That was a particularly hard chapter to write. Didn't mean to make anyone cry.

So this fic is drawing to an end VERY SOON, unless my muse changes its mind. I have a sequel in mind. Hopefully I'll have some other chapters to my fics up soon.

Jess

* * *

**Chapter 32: Murder and Change of Plans**

House lay there, holding Allie for hours. He could not sleep – he had too many things to think about.

Over the hours a plan had formed in his mind. First, he would put her somewhere safe – probably leave her with her sisters. Then he was taking PJ, Matt and Nicky and killing Adam and Steven.

They wouldn't know why – he would never betray her like that – but by the time that they were through with Adam and Steven they would be sorry that they had ever laid a hand on his girl.

And after that he would find Thomas Cameron. No man could be oblivious enough to not see what was happening to his daughter.

_Someone_ should have protected her. _Someone_should have listened.

He remembered the day that he had asked her if anyone had ever abused her. For a fraction of a second there had been something in her eyes – something that screamed out to him.

Then it was gone and he had been half sure that it was his imagination because a moment later she had replied with a steely 'no'.

To lie to others sometimes you had to first lie to yourself. That much House knew. Hiding the past didn't make it go away but sometimes it hurt less.

"No! Stop it, please." Allison thrashed in House's protective embrace and he drew her closer.

"You're safe Allie, its okay I got you."

There was really nothing else that he could do or say to her, and he was afraid to draw her to close to him or hold her too tight.

Besides the fact that only a few days ago she had taken a beating there was also the fact that sometimes nightmares transferred into reality.

He didn't want her to think that her dream was real. Apparently his reassurances were all that she needed because she settled back into his embrace and a calm sleep.

House drifted into a light uneasy sleep.

The next time he woke up was when the sun was up and his phone was ringing. Usually he would just ignore it, but he didn't want Allie to wake up.

She needed all the sleep that she could get if the bags under her eyes and tear streaked face meant anything.

The caller ID read "Cuddles" and he answered with a gruff 'what?'

"House."

"Really. Are you sure it's me? It could be my evil twin Wilson. He's_always_ getting me in trouble. You should make him do my clinic duties."

He spoke with his usual sarcasm but his voice didn't have the same snarky tone it usually did, something that Cuddy immediately picked up on.

"What's up with you? You don't sound as snarky. Do they poison the water there? Who can I thank?"

"Nope. No poising of the water. It's because I miss your funbags. How are the twins anyway? Withdrawal takes away my usual joy and I'm just not able to form words to convey how much I miss them."

"Cute House, real cute. Listen, I have a case and I need you guys to come back immediately. I e-mailed you you're tickets and flight information. American Airlines from O'Hare at seven."

"But Mo-om. We're supposed to be here for a few more days. The guy'll be fine."

"House, you'll be back here tonight, no exceptions. Wilson said that you were staying with Cameron's family, but that's all he could get from you."

She switched so fast from work-Cuddy to old college friend gossip girl Cuddy that he felt his head spin.

"They feed me. And don't make me go to clinic. Let's think about this. You _are_ a doctor after all. Free food and no clinic vs. clinic and no free food. Which do you think that I like better?"

"Wilson pays for your food every day House."

"Not everyday. And the people always give me pickles. And you won't make them stop."

"That's on the top of my list of things to do."

House was about to respond when there was a knock at the door.

Shi poked her head in and smiled at House. He covered the mouth piece of his phone and she spoke her voice soft.

"PJ's making pancakes. We're doing some more packing, Foreman and Chase are going exploring and we're trying to convince PJ to go to La Creperie for lunch."

"La Creperie?"

"A little French restaurant. There are many hidden places in this city. All you have to do is find them."

House nodded and gestured to the phone. "Down in a minute."

She seemed to understand that he meant that he would wake Allie and both of them would be down, but the phone call was hindering his plans.

The Cameron's were interesting like that. They had hidden cues, inside jokes and secret messages in simple sentences that the others could pick up on in an instant.

And somehow, he had been incorporated into the secret club.

"Okay. See you in ten."

Shi disappeared and closed the door softly behind her.

"House!_House_."

"I'm still here. Don't get your panties in a twist."

"Who were you talking to?"

"God. Who were you talking to?"

"House. I will see you tomorrow morning with your new case. I'm calling Foreman, Chase and Cameron so that they know and you can't try to get out of getting home."

Before he could get another word in edgewise she hung up.

* * *

"Allie." 

"Al-lie"

"Cameron."

House pulled the covers away from her body on the last one and immediately Allie's arms flew as she tried to curl herself up tighter and find the missing sheets.

"It's time to get up." He tugged on the sheet that she was trying to pull from him to make a point.

"No."

"Yes it is."

Allison buried her head into a pillow and molded some of her body against his. House was lying next to her on his side with her back against his chest.

"Come on. I have super secret information about pancakes and what our plans are for the day."

"Can't we just stay here today?"

"Allison Cameron not wanting to get up?"

"It's too early."

"No, it's not. It's ten thirty. Even I'm usually up by then."

"But I don't _wanna_."

"To bad so sad."

House wrapped his arms under hers and tugged until they were both sitting up.

"I want breakfast, let's go."

When she rolled over to face him she was smiling – shaking because she was cold – but smiling.

"Thank you."

"For what?" It wasn't a sarcastic question. He really had no idea why she was thanking him.

"For not looking at me funny and treating me different." Before he could answer her she rolled out of bed and was looking at him shyly.

"So what were you saying about pancakes?"

He chose to follow her lead. For now.

They had some more talking to do and he had to find Adam and Steven and make sure that they understood the consequences of hurting his girl.

* * *

And sorry for the shortness. _Offers everyone cookies._

Jess


	32. Chapter 33

I think that I've been screwy with the time line of this fic. I really need to go back and do some editing. So this is set in about early November and somewhere in the end of season two, beginning of season three. No Tritter. And that's final. More of the others soon.

Jess

* * *

**Chapter 33: The Best Laid Plans…**

"Look who the cat dragged in."

Allie grinned briefly at Matt. "I hate cats."

"Dog work better?"

"Since I'm the one who had to wake up sleeping beauty does that make me an animal? 'Cuz then I don't like this game."

"You were awake?" Foreman turned startled to look at House.

"I got a phone call from dear Cuddles - the Cuddliest of them all."

The three ducklings laughed and Cameron went to grab plates for her and House but was stopped by PJ.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed before sitting down on a stool. House sat next to her.

"How did you do that?"

"What, get her to sit down?"

"And shut up?"

House watched amused as Allison grabbed a handful of the M&M's that PJ was putting in the pancakes and chucked them at Nicky.

"Allie!"

"What?" Allison ate the few remaining in her hand that she hadn't thrown and smiled innocently. "I didn't do anything."

PJ shook his head.

"It's all in the look" he told House as he put some pancakes on a plate.

"But it doesn't work with anyone else. It's a dad look." Ellie grabbed a glass and a mug from a cabinet and set them down.

Allison nodded. "Yep. No one else can make the same face, it doesn't work."

"Matt tried once and Allie went after him with a knife."

Shi laughed. "_That_ was a fun Thanksgiving."

"You went after him with a _knife_?" Foreman's voice was incredulous.

"First of all, it was a _plastic butter knife_ second of all he had been taunting me all day."

"During Thanksgiving?"

"We were at Dad's, and I was in charge of serving the 'kids' table – which was the seven of us and some of my cousins. Shi was about seven, so we were all pretty old. There were probably about fifteen of us total. Matt would not shut up, and then he tried to pull the PJ face and try and get me to be quiet because I had started to yell at him."

Allie shot him a look and Matt shrugged. "Okay, maybe I went a little over the top."

"A_little_?" Ellie asked.

"I got fed up and grabbed the butter knife and told him that if he didn't stop we would be having a little problem. No one saw except Mary, so I was in the clear. Shut him up real quick too."

"Well, it's not every day my baby sis threatens me at knife point."

"Not every day my biggest brother bugs me to the point I have to."

House laughed out loud. Foreman and Chase looked startled but Cameron grinned.

"You said Cuddy called?"

Ellie skillfully directed the subject away from the Cameron family and their interesting stories and back to work.

"Yeah. She wants us to come home."

The ducklings froze and turned to stare at him.

Shi set a plate of pancakes in front of Allison and one in front of Greg but she was staring at him too.

Her school had an electric problem at the moment so she had no school for a few more days.

"Why?" Chase was the one to finally break the silence.

"Case. I told her that we had time here still and that we should stay. If we were at the conference we wouldn't be able to leave. Besides, we're only here for two more days."

"What time is our flight?"

Cameron was drawing shapes on the counter and hadn't looked up.

"Seven tonight from O'Hare."

"I don't want you guys to leave." Shi walked over to Allison and leaned against her. The other siblings nodded their agreement and the rest of the group looked just as unhappy about leaving.

"We'll compromise."

Everyone turned to look at PJ.

"What?"

"I'm assuming that you wouldn't be working tonight-" he shot a look at Ellie. "No ass comments El."

She sighed and nodded her consent. "- So you can stay tonight and then leave tomorrow and go to work. We can fly you out there and that way you can stay another night but the boss won't be angry."

"But it's _fun_ to make her angry."

Allison turned to her siblings.

"You should see what they get into at work. It's very funny actually."

"Our fights are full of meaning and good insults."

Cameron rolled her eyes and gestured to Foreman and Chase. It was something that they had done numerous times in the past, and was easy to repeat.

"I want to do something probably entirely illegal that may kill the patient or cure him." Foreman tried to imitate House's gruff voice and smirk.

"You can't House. We don't need anymore law suits."

Allison was already laughing – her shoulders shaking as Chase flipped his hair and batted his eyelashes.

"As much as I love your funbags, I'm doing the procedure."

"I'll fire you!"

"No you won't." Foreman turned to stalk away mimicking House's limp and Chase turned the in other direction sticking his chest out and swaying his hips.

House stared at the two. Shi and Ellie were laughing and PJ was shaking his head as were Nicky and Matt.

"You two should go on the road. Especially you Chase. The impression was good, but the figure. We have to do something about the figure."

"Plastic surgery?" PJ suggested. "I know a few friends who could hook me up with some people."

"It could work."

Chase shook his head. "I vote no."

"But here it's not a democracy it's a dictatorship." Ellie set the mug of coffee in front of House and a glass of milk in front of Allie. She rolled her eyes but Ellie, Matt, Nicky and Shi all held up there glasses.

"Who's the dictator?" Foreman asked.

"PJ." It was said in unison and the siblings took one look at each other before bursting out laughing.

"Why am I the dictator? Not that I don't adore being in charge of all you crazies."

"'Cuz your old."

"Thanks."

Allison picked up the glass of milk and Matt counted off. "1, 2, 3 go."

They started to chug the glasses of milk and about thirty second's later PJ yelled out 'freeze'.

"What are you doing?"

"Seeing who has to clean up the kitchen." PJ walked between the five. "Whoever moves first and second have to clean."

"Isn't that unfair for those two?" House gestured towards Allie and Shi. Both had been injured days prior.

"They won't not play the game though. Everyone will end up cleaning, but they find this way more amusing."

Allison's phone rang and House glanced over at it and smiled when he read the name.

"Hello?"

"House? Why are you answering Cameron's phone?"

"She's frozen right now, can I take a message?"

"House, whjat did you do to her?" Cuddy sounded extremely pissed and House hit speaker innocently.

"I didn't do anything. PJ froze her."

"Who the hell is PJ?"

"Her dad."

"House where is Cameron?"

"Why does no one believe me?"

"Chase, tell Cuddles where Cameron is."

"She's frozen."

"Chase, tell me where she is or you're fired."

"Cuddy, she really is frozen. They're playing a game."

"Give her the phone."

"Ah. No time outs. If Al takes the phone she looses."

House stared at PJ. "You're serious?"

"Yep. Best way to get them is to make them laugh, but you can't touch them."

House took the phone back. "Talk to Foreman I have to go unfreeze the rest of the family."

"HOUSE! I'm going to fire your ass when you get back here."

"Sorry mommy, I'll be good later I promise. I thought you liked me bad anyway. That's what the whip is for."

At this Matt and Ellie both choked and started laughing.

"Aw, you lose."

"Shut up House."

"You lost. Cameron heeeeerrrrreeee's Cuddy."

She laughed and took the phone from House. "Hello Dr. Cuddy?"

"What did House do to you?"

Cameron had taken a sip of PJ's coffee and made a choking noise at the question. Cuddy was still on speaker although she didn't know it and House grinned.

"I don't think that you want an answer to that question Cameron."

She shook her head. "I plead the fifth."

Cuddy sighed. "You have a flight home from O'Hare at seven tonight. One of the donors kids has the sniffles. They'll be in at one tomorrow for some tests. I expect to see you all tomorrow at about nine, is that clear?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Allison hung up and grinned at her colleges.

"I say that we get in about noon, and watch her face turn really red and steam come out her ears."

Foreman and Chase laughed.

"Why not?"

House shook his head.

"She's going to think it was all me."

"I'll blame PJ."

"It's always my fault, isn't it Lee?"

She smiled eyes bright. It was almost like last night with her story hadn't happened.

"Always."

* * *

So this one is a filler. But the story is almost over. Probably two or three more chapters. Unless my plot bunnies run away again. They do that a lot. 


	33. Chapter 34

So the end is corny and it took a little while, sorry. I'm thinking two or three more chapters.

Jess

* * *

**Chapter 34: Spoons and Invites**

Most of the day was quietly spent. The Cameron's packed while House sat there and Foreman and Chase went out to meet two girls they had found at The House Of Blues.

At one point Ellie pulled him aside her face drawn with worry.

"What's up with Allie?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

It was true. She was being quiet and withdrawn. Not silent, but quiet enough to worry her family. He was worried about her too.

She had told him one of her deepest, darkest secrets that only two other people – Steven and Adam – knew about.

The phone rang and Ellie left to answer it, but not before sending a look over her shoulder back at House.

"Hello?"

The half-smile that Ellie had on her face disappeared almost immediately and her tone of voice changed and became colder.

"No Dad, I want her for a few more days."

"Probably in about two days. I know she doesn't have school."

"She's my sister."

"But-"

Ellie sighed and her frown deepened.

"I'll think about it."

The phone slammed down and she turned to House the only one who had been present to hear the conversation.

"My dad wants us to go over to his house for dinner. Apparently they whipped up a little party. Adam, his friend Steven and his wife, Mary and Dave, and a few other people."

House only heard the first two names. He wanted to ask – no – demand that Ellie call him back and say that they could come.

That way he could beat the shit out of Adam and Steven.

Ellie seemed to see something in his eyes for she paused and cocked her head.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?" He hoped that she wouldn't ask why Allison was being so quiet.

"You take care of her, okay? There are some things that I don't think Allie will ever tell me. And some days I'm grateful I don't know. Because there are probably some terrible stories that I never want to hear. I know a lot. Others days I just want to be there for her and Shi. Just promise me that you'll look out for her."

"I promise." Ellie nodded.

"You have that look on your face. Should I call Dad back and accept so you guys can beat Adam up?"

"You say that like you know I would."

House tensed his hand on his cane tightening.

"Who wouldn't?"

"Touché."

"You can't kill him though because then you would go to jail."

"Do you think that I care?"

"I think that even if you don't care about the consequences I do. Allie does. This family does. You see, we could have let this tear us apart. But we didn't. No matter what we're together."

He had seen that over the few days that he had spent with them.

"I promise not to kill him."

Ellie met his eyes calmly and then nodded. "Okay. I'll call him back."

* * *

"Tonight we are going to Dad's house at six and having dinner. Shi, dad wants you back home after dinner tonight. I'm trying to fight him for another day so you can see Allie off with us. Foreman and Chase are invited it they aren't still doing something with the girls they met. Greg is coming with us."

Ellie's eyes slid over to address PJ directly.

"You're invited."

"I'll be there." _To protect Allie and Shi._

It wasn't said, just implied.

"Ugh. Do we have to go? Just gag me with a spoon and have it be over with." Allison muttered.

House raised an eyebrow.

Now_that_was an expression that he had never heard before.

"Why a spoon?" He asked.

Allie looked at him. She seemed to have gained a little bit of color back while he was talking to Ellie. "Why not?"

Matt intercepted with a grin.

"It's an expression Mom used to use. Something that we all say now. And there's a reason it's a spoon. Not a knife because then you might accidentally cut yourself. Forks have prongs and that would hurt. Spoons are the least likely to cause a death from choking blood."

The four oldest Cameron's had a look on their face that House wasn't sure how to describe.

He remembered how Elizabeth Kramer had died. Her head had hit the window shield and a piece of glass had been lodged in her windpipe. Death was almost instant.

A strange irony that was probably never shaken by the joke about choking to death on blood.

"Logical reasoning."

Shi shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm depraved on account I'm deprived."

They laughed and it broke the tension that had been brought up by Elizabeth Kramer's death.

"West Side Story now?" House questioned.

"We love musicals." Shi explained.

"And we make the guys watch them with us in exchange for their action movies."

"Lethal Weapon, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Goldfinger, Enter The Dragon, Aliens, Die Hard -" Allie began to list but Nicky cut her off.

"The Sound Of Music, West Side Story, Annie, Oliver!, Chicago, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, The Phantom Of The Opera. Do you want me to keep going?"

"Do you want me to? Because I'm not above getting in a contest about who could name more."

"No, we'll compete for something else later. Plus you have an unfair advantage because of PJ."

"Do not. Mom was on Broadway for a few years. She knew _all_ the musicals."

"Don't start another fight." PJ cautioned before he turned to face Ellie.

"So dinner with Tom and Kimberly?"

"And Mary and Dave and some other people. Mary and Dave will be keeping us sane." Ellie replied.

"We should get them something for putting up with this family for all these years. I don't know why they do it. They aren't even related to us anymore." Allie's voice was serious, but amused.

"If I was them I would have taken off as soon as the divorce was finalized and moved somewhere where they would never be found by us." Matt commented.

"Oh, but we're so much fun to hang out with."

PJ snorted at Shi's tone. "Yeah, you guys are a ball."

"Aren't we?"

* * *

"I'm not ready for this." Allison spoke lowly and gripped his hand tightly.

"I'm right here, don't worry about it. I've got you."

"No, let's just leave." Allison was twisting her body to turn but House caught her by the shoulder.

He was relieved that Foreman and Chase had opted not to go with them. They were still with their dates.

That meant that holding Allie would be easier. They wouldn't have to deal with the questionable gazes.

"Look at me." She did.

"We can do this. I'm here, PJ's here, you're brothers are here. So are Ellie and Shi. We aren't going to leave you alone with any of them at any time. And as corny as it is, I'll be right here."

Allison laughed and then sighed before wiping her eyes.

"I can do this."

"That's my girl."

* * *


	34. Chapter 35

So this fic ends when they get back to PPTH, which will bein one or two chapters. Just warning you. Sequel will be up... some time maybe after winter break? Maybe before. It all depends. This one is long for me, so enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 35: Dinner**

Ellie raised her hand to ring the doorbell and almost immediately the door was thrust open.

"Ellie!"

A girl, in her twenties hugged Ellie. House watched as her arms went up slowly to wrap the girl in an embrace.

"Hi Rory."

"Dad said that all of you were coming."

"Yeah." Nicky accept a hug from her as well, his face blank.

Allison was standing next to him and he could feel how tense she was.

"Stop clenching." Hs voice was a whisper and she smiled apologetically at him.

"I can't help it, I hate this house."

Before House could reply Rory was hugging Allison.

"Oh my God. Allie! What happened to your arm? Are you okay?"

The girls concern was genuine and Allison smiled at her.

"I fell, doesn't matter. It's just a sprain."

That was a lie. It was broken. And pretty badly too.

Shi caught his gaze and shook her head once. Now was not the time to bring up lying about injuries.

"And who are you?" House took a moment to examine the woman.

He recalled that Allison had said Rory was 23 and Erin was 20.

Rory had redish- blonde curls that were pulled up in a ponytail. Her eyes were a hazel and they were half way hidden by glasses with a black frame.

"This is House. He's my boss Ror."

"Oh. It's nice to meet you."

Another girl appeared next to her, and House was startled by the resemblance. The two could have been identical if not for the fact that Erin had a darker red colored hair.

"Come on in, everyone else is here."

House caught Adam passing behind them into a different room that branched off from the foyer and saw Allison clench.

Rory and Erin weren't paying attention and House stepped closer to her.

"You okay?" He whispered.

"'Come into my parlor' said the spider to the fly." Was her only reply, a grim look on her face.

"Don't worry about it Al. We've got you covered." Ellie's voice was like a whisper across them and before House could respond she was gone, wrapping an arm around one of her sisters and distracting them from the sight of a very pale Allison clutching her bosses hand.

* * *

Mary and Dave greeted them with a now familiar surprise and delight. It almost amused House. 

It would have if he hadn't known that they were doing to for the safety of Shi and Allie. Pissing any family members off was not good for the girls.

"Your dad and Adam are in the kitchen. They're putting the finishing touches on dinner. It will be out soon."

"Okay." Allison turned to House. "Let me give you the tour. By the time we get back dinner should be ready."

"Let's go. Lead the way."

Allison laughed and inclined her head. "Come on."

He followed her into the prairie style house and to the first flight of stairs. Without thinking he popped a Vicodin. Stairs _killed_ his leg, but they were easier to handle at Allison's other house. These looked steeper.

"Lean on me if you have to, Foreman and Chase aren't here." House wrapped an arm around her and accepted the help.

About halfway up the stairs he paused. There was a picture of the five girls standing together when they were younger and House took a moment to examine it.

Ellie and Allie were kneeling, while Erin and Rory sat in front of them. Shi was laying on her back facing the camera.

The picture was black and white, and Shi looked to be barely a few months old.

Each girl wore a shirt with a word on it, and all were serious, except for Shi who looked like she was sleeping.

Shi's shirt read Hope, Rory's Peace, Erin's Joy, Ellie's Love and Allison's was Faith.

"Interesting picture."

"Kimberly wanted to go slightly religious slash anti-war with the Christmas cards one year, and that was what we came up with."

"You were-?" House let his voice trail off.

"Age wise? I was almost sixteen."

If he looked into her eyes he could see the pain. Before he could comment though there were footsteps behind them.

"There's my Allie-Cat. I thought I heard your voice." Strong arms immediately wrapped around Cameron and lifted her in the air.

It took seconds for House to draw the conclusion that the man standing in front of him was Steven. Steven who had listened to who story and then helped the same night rape her brutally. The man that Allison had told him was now the chief of police.

Allison didn't look as terrified as he thought she would confronting this man, but he could see how stiff her body was, how she was pressing her lips together so hard that they were almost white.

"I was just giving my boss a tour of the house."

"Well, don't let me interrupt, I'll join you."

"Uncle Steven!" Ellie was at the bottom of the stairs.

"I didn't even know that you were here."

Steven grinned. "Hey Ellie."

"What, I don't get a hello hug?"

Ellie had her hands on her hips. Steven sighed and started down the stairs.

"I'll catch up with you later Allie-Cat." Allie shot her sister a grateful look and Ellie nodded, her eyes meeting House's.

_Don't worry about her. We've got everything taken care of. We've done this before, and we'll do it again. Neither of them will get near her or Shi alone._

House gave a curt nod which Ellie returned with barely a glimmer of a smile.

"So, continue your tour." Allison was looking between the two of them, but she shrugged her shoulders and nodded.

"Follow me."

* * *

"And this was my room. Watch your head." Allison led House into the attic, ducking as the ceiling stooped lower. 

"This was your room?"

"The door at the end of the hall."

She walked through the built-in-bookshelves that were along what seemed to be a mini-hallway and to the door.

Once at the door she twisted the knob slightly and threw her weight against the door causing it to swing open.

The ceiling was higher in the room, but was slanted at some points. They were after all on the top floor.

If Greg hadn't known Allison he would have thought the room to be a normal teenagers' room.

Two futon mattresses were against a far corner, stacked upon each other. Tie dye sheets covered them and a book was on the bed, faced down and House could just see the title from where he was standing.

_Sam's Letters to Jennifer_

"James Patterson?"

"Yeah, but it's Shi's."

Allison collapsed on her bed and House sat next to her.

There were tall white lamps by her bed, and a desk in another corner. It was painted a sky blue with clouds on it, and didn't match the room at all. There was a dresser, and that was about it. A chair sat in front of the desk, and there was another one in the corner. There were throw pillows all around the room and House could imagine Cameron sitting on them and doing her homework. Nothing was on the walls.

The walls were painted a dark yellow, almost orange color. It made the room dark and was slightly nauseating.

"What's with the color?" He knew that even if she had chosen the color it had been years ago and she wouldn't take offense.

"They wouldn't let me repaint it. They said that they it wasn't important what color my room was, and if I didn't like it then I should just deal because they liked it. I couldn't put anything on the walls because it might mess with the paint."

Another seemingly little thing that had become something that had been brushed aside. Little things added up. Little things still hurt.

"Guys?" Matt's voice was hesitant and sounded distant.

"Yeah Matt?"

"Dinners ready in five, come on down." Footsteps sounded for a split second before disappearing completely.

House turned to her waiting to hear the explanation of why Matt had appeared and disappeared so quickly without them ever hearing him appear in the first place.

"He was at the foot of the stairs, everyone just yelled up to me when I was younger. It was easier that way."

Allison stood and stretched before extending her one good arm to House.

"Let's go downstairs."

* * *

Dinner was fairly uneventful until desert time. 

Allison had stood up to go get a glass of wine, and House had let her go by herself.

She had warned him earlier that if he was too clingy she would be pissed at him. So House resigned himself to watching her closely and 'accidentally' hitting Steven with his cane a few times, 'stumbling' and elbowing Adam in the face.

It was hard to believe that two men who seemed like sissy could cause so much harm and damage.

But he had never been a fifteen year old girl completely vulnerable living with people who didn't want him.

House had been engrossed in a story that Dave was telling him – about Allison when she was a child and he hadn't noticed Adam excuse himself to go to the bathroom.

Hadn't noticed that Steven drained his beer and went to go get some more, politely declining Tom's offer of getting him some.

It wasn't until he heard a small crash. No one else seemed to have heard it, but it immediately set Houses' senses on alert.

He took notice that Allison was gone, as were Steven and Adam.

Somehow even with all of their planning Steven and Adam had managed to evade them.

House was on his feet before anyone noticed and excused himself quickly to Dave, pretending that his phone had gone off.

The walk to the kitchen seemed to take years, but it really only took a matter of seconds.

"Leave me alone."

"You know that you missed us Allie. Shi's good, but she's not _that_ good."

Adam and Steven were standing side by side, in front of her. Not to close for anyone to suspect anything was wrong, but close enough to thoroughly invade personal space.

House was wondering how to jump in without making a massive scene that would alert everyone when Steven did it for him.

There was a smack, and a cry escaped from Allison's lips.

That was it.

House tightened his grip on his cane.

No one hit someone he cared about and got away with it.

Before he could even think his cane was in the air and then going down on Stevens head with a sharp _thwack_.

Steven was on the ground, his face bleeding as he moaned out obscenities.

The cane cracked in half, splintering on some edges. House would deal with his loss of a cane later.

"I suggest you step away and get the hell out of here before someone gets hurt more then they already are."

Adam's face still bore some bruising from House's earlier beating.

"What do you know Dr. House? This girl here is nothing more then a slut." There was another _thwack_this time from a fist that didn't belong to House.

PJ stood next to him eyes burning in anger.

Adam's nose was bleeding, and House would bet his clinic hours that it was broken.

"Step away from my daughter."

"She's not yours. Or maybe she really is. Maybe that's why Tom didn't want her. Everyone knows that Lizzie was a slu-."

PJ was practically shaking now and House offered him half of his cane which caused Allison to let out a muffled and shaky laugh.

PJ used the cane to hit Adam in the knees, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Can we leave, please?" Her tone was begging and PJ nodded.

"Go get your coat and make an excuse." She fled and House and PJ turned to fully face Steven and Adam.

House delivered a stinging kick with his good leg to Steven's side, causing him to groan in pain.

"If you ever touch either of them, so much as lay a finger on them, I don't care about the consequences I _will_ kill you." PJ's voice was low and steady, and if it hadn't been for the fact that his hands were shaking and his eyes were practically red in anger House would have said that he was calm.

"Is that a threat Joseph?"

"What the hell do you think Adam. This town has corrupted cops, and your best friend happens to be one of them. But it's ending now. _That's_ a promise."

That was for sure. All one had to do was look at House and PJ's serious faces and then back to Adam and Steven who were both bleeding, Steven pretty hard from his head wound.

There was no doubt in House's mind that if either Steven or Adam touched a hair on Shi or Allie's head the breaths that they took immediately after that would be their last.

* * *

The car ride back to Evanston was silent except for the quiet radio. Ellie and Nicky had managed to convince their father to let Shi stay with them another night before they all had to leave. 

Adam and Steven had beaten a hasty retreat – Steven calling out that he had an emergency at work and dashing out – not saying good-bye because his rearranged face would raise question.

Adam had dashed out soon after him spouting some excuse that was a completely lie that no one called him on.

No one had noticed Houses' missing cane that wasn't from the family he had grown close to, and PJ had told him that he had some in Evanston that he could have if he needed them.

To get to the car he had leaned on Allison and PJ, not caring, his main concern the woman under his arm.

Allison didn't say anything, but the moment she got in the car she lid next to him and wrapped her arms around him in the tightest grip that she could manage.

By the time that they finally pulled into the driveway Greg had Allison half-way on his lap with his arms gripping her as tightly as she held him.

They stepped into the house and she hugged them all equally as tightly.

"I'm showering and then going to bed."

The soft, weary chorus of 'good-nights' got barely a reaction from Allison and Greg followed her as she trudged up the stairs.

They entered her room and Allison turned to him.

"Can you wrap my arm?" She held her cast out towards him and House nodded.

They were the first words that she had spoken since she asked if they could leave and House took a moment to examine- really examine her.

The blow that Steven had delivered upon her had caused a black eye with a bit of a scratch below her eye. There were dark circles under her eyes and while she was no longer visibly shaking – as she had been in the car – chills still covered her body.

The two walked into the bathroom and Allison turned on the water and but a plug into the tub, starting a bath.

At his surprised look she shrugged.

"I need one. I need a bubble bath actually."

Greg nodded and wrapped her arm in the necessary items to stop water from getting in it.

"Do you need any help?"

Allison nodded and looked at him shyly from underneath her lashes.

"Do you think that you could stay here while I take a bath?"

* * *

House gulped once and bent to meet her eyes. 

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and gave him the tiniest sliver of a smile.

"You've already seen me stripped figuratively, and I really don't want to be alone right now."

There was a pause and a confession so soft that House was almost sure that he had imagined it.

_I need you._

He turned and allowed her to strip and step into the bubble bath. The bubbles obscured his vision of her body and for that he was grateful.

As much as he wanted to see what she looked like, he knew that they definitely weren't ready for anything like that.

"I'm glad that you're here. I'm glad that you were there tonight. Thank you." Allison was half asleep in the bath, her bad arm dangling out, her eyes half closed.

House popped another Vicodin – he had taken a few after beating up Adam and Steven and sighed.

"I wish I could have stopped them completely."

"No one could have. Not even PJ. Not even me."

They sat in the bathroom in silence for a little while, until Allison finally felt clean enough to get out of the bath.

They were lying in bed and Allison was curled against him, his arms holding her tightly.

It was about three in the morning when he felt her move ever so slightly. On and off throughout the night, terrors had been causing her to wake up shaking in his arms.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't sleep anymore, we have to pack, but we can do that later, come on."

She swung bare feet onto the hard wood floor and grabbed her bathrobe, handing him a silver cane that PJ had dropped off earlier.

"Where are we going?"

"Shh." Greg followed her down the first set of stairs and into the ballroom.

Somehow someone had managed to set up a projection screen. House wasn't sure why they weren't just in the basement movie theatre, but the Cameron's had traditions that they followed.

On the stage someone had set up a few lovesacs, pillows, and blankets. On the projector was what had to be a home video.

"Say hi girls."

Two little girl turned and waved at the camera.

"Hi Mom! Look at what I can do!" The older girl – who had to be Ellie – took off and did a cartwheel in the front lawn. Allie soon followed with a somersault.

"Couldn't sleep Lee?" It was then that House noticed that the lumps he had thought were stacks of blankets were Ellie, Nicky, Matt, Shi and PJ huddled together.

"Nope."

"Climb on in."

Allison shook her head and pulled House to the lovesac directly next to the one that Ellie and Shi were laying on.

She curled up and House lay behind her, cradling her body.

Nicky reached out a hand and the two locked pinkies.

"Don't worry baby, we'll be here when you wake up."

Allison nodded and closed her eyes.

With her family and House with her, and her mothers voice in the background she was finally able to sleep peacefully, and it wasn't long before House joined her in dream land.

* * *

There it is. OOC, but there it is. Let me know wht you thought, 

Jess


	35. Chapter 36

Wow. This is the first time for a few chapters that I looked at the numbers. 434 reviews!!! Thank you so much guys! This is the second to last chapter.There is one more that should be up before I leave for my dad's for winter break and the the new story in pronbably the new year.

* * *

**Chapter 36: Margie's**

By the time that House woke up the sun was just lighting up the room.

Allison was sleep, as were Shi and Ellie. PJ was awake and Nicky and Matt were nowhere to be found.

"They're making coffee. Foreman and Chase aren't up yet. If you don't want the two of you to be found out you should go pack. We're leaving soon." None of this was said with malice.

PJ was sitting in a chair, the room cleaned except for the blankets and lovesacs on the stage. House popped a few Vicodins and walked over to PJ.

"Should I wake Allie?"

"Nah, not yet. Knowing her she'll just throw everything together last minute with packing."

House raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Last minute packer?"

PJ snorted. "Just a fast packer. Tom picked the girls up every other weekend for a night in Oak Park. Allie could pack in about five minutes. She usually did. Her and Ellie are both last minute packers."

"I am too." House dragged a chair over and sat next to PJ. "And if they find me, I woke up and went searching for food. Found you instead."

"You can't eat anything."

"Another tradition?"

"Of course." PJ checked his watch. "We have to be at the airport at noon, it's eight now, we have to leave in about a half hour. Do you want to go wake your lovely coworkers, or should I?"

"I will." House grinned devilishly. "How exactly are you planning on waking these three though?"

"Like this." PJ drew a deep breath. "Margie's in Bucktown in thirty. MOVE!"

All three scrambled to their feet and were out the door. Allison scampered out so quickly she didn't even notice House standing next to PJ in hysterics.

"That's how you wake them?"

"Not normally. Ellie would wake up on her own, Nicky you stuck your head in his room and yelled. With Matt it took two alarms and threats of water guns."

"And Allie?"

"You've been sharing a room with her. Pull the blankets off, set three alarms, cajole, threaten, and anything else you can think of. She is one of the hardest people to get up. Takes after Lizzie that way."

"Lizzie was difficult?"

"Impossible. Between her and Allie there was a morning war. Allie didn't even speak in the mornings, just sat there. Only days she spoke were the ones where we got up ridiculously early and had breakfast on the beach."

"She's not like that anymore." House commented.

"Well, no she had three younger siblings to take care of and then college. She had to learn how to get up on her own. The first two months after she moved to Tom's I used to call her every morning to wake her up."

Allison, Shi and Ellie went tumbling into the ballroom, dressed and ready.

House heaved himself to his feet. "Guess I should go wake Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb."

* * *

"Rise and shine children."

House flicked on all the lights and opened the curtains, allowing sunlight to stream into the bedroom.

"House -"

"What the -"

Both sat up and rubbed at their faces.

"We're going to some place called Margie's, leaving in ten minutes. Get dressed my ducklings. And think. Soon, you will be free."

"You're leaving?"

House chuckled. "I meant of the crazy family. You'll have more time to spend with me."

* * *

It took about twenty minutes for everyone to get assembled downstairs. Once they were ready they all got in the limo that was PJ's.

Normally they just drove, but parking in Bucktown was hell – or so House was told.

"Where exactly are we going?" Foreman questioned again.

"Margie's." It was all that they would say and House watched Allison as she practically bounced around in the car, cheeks flushed a rosy pink.

He was glad to see that the somber, scared girl that she had been had disappeared mostly with the morning light and her family close by.

House wasn't sure what was going to happen when they got back to Princeton. He didn't want anything to end, but that didn't mean that it would be easy to have a relationship.

Years of demons were still fresh in the minds of both of them, and there was also the fact that she worked for him.

* * *

"Welcome to the best ice cream place in the world. The service isn't the best, but the ice cream is what we're here for."

PJ stepped out of the car first followed by everyone else. The restaurant was small, very small. Somehow the group of them managed to cram into a small booth. It helped that there was no one there so they were able to add tables and chairs.

Immediately menus were taken and the Cameron kids began to leaf through them with a childish delight.

"You do realize that they want to feed us a gallon of ice cream in these menus, right?"

At House's comment, PJ put down his menu and sighed. "So, I guess it's time to tell you about this particular tradition."

"There are more traditions?" Foreman questioned in disbelief.

"There are always more traditions." Ellie replied, not looking up.

"This tradition goes back years ago. Actually, Tom started it by accident. When he had the kids with him the last thing he would do would get the hyped up on some form of sugar, usually ice cream."

"Anyway-" Matt took up the story. "Mom could deal with us no matter what we were on, so it was no big deal. Being at dads was always like a vacation. We never had a set bedtime, we could eat whatever whenever, didn't have to do our homework – anything was fair game at his house."

"So, we go on vacation with mom over the summer – she was on tour and we were with her, of course." Nicky added. Lizzie Kramer was notorious for only doing tours when she could take her children with her and not disrupt their schooling. "It was the last night of the concert and we all went to bed. The next morning she woke us up early. We figured it was for breakfast, but instead we went out for ice cream as our last 'hurrah' of the vacation. It's been tradition ever since. Hence the Margie's. We all order one thing and see if we can finish it, you can get up to about twenty-five scoops here."

Allison grinned "So, who's up for the challenge?"

* * *

Foreman stared at the ice cream.

"You expect us to eat this while thing?"

"Yep. Dig in."

Cameron picked up her spoon, a wicked grin on her face. The ice cream was indeed half a gallon of different flavors. The group had opted for just vanilla and chocolate.

Five pourers of hot fudge and caramel sat next to the shell shaped white bowl. A million tiny cherries adorned the ice cream and the whipped cream. The wafers sitting on top of the whipped cream were what each Cameron child had immediately gone for.

"Dig in."

* * *

Two hours later House watched in amusement as Allison crammed everything into her suitcase.

"You could just pack like a normal human being you know."

"You didn't." Allison tried to zip her back and sent a half hearted kick it's way.

"But I'm a guy. Guys never take time to actually pack."

"Well, I'm my mothers daughter. Mom was never able to pack. Ellie was the only one of us who was actually willing to fold anything besides laundry."

PJ knocked on the door and then stepped into the room. "You almost ready Lee?"

"I am." She successfully jammed the remainder of her stuff into a bag and handed him one of them. "Let's rock and roll."


	36. Chapter 37

So, this is the end. I have the sequel started, but nothing really concrete yet except for the idea. I'd like to thank everyone whose read this and reviewed. The support I get is one of the things that keeps me writing. Also thank you to the people who just read it. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk. I'm off to a party and won't be home until tomorrow, but I'll respond. Some other fics will be up soon. Hugs and cookies,

Jess

* * *

**Chapter: The Final Chapter**

The plane ride back to New Jersey was pretty quiet.

Ellie, Shi and Allie spent almost the entire time playing cards. They taught the three doctors how to play dice – a game based entirely on luck and watched Chase cream everyone, much to House's dismay.

When the pilot instructed everyone to fasten their seatbelts, the six Cameron/Dyers did so in silence.

As soon as the plane landed House told Foreman and Chase (in very few words) to scram after they said good-bye so Cameron could have a minute alone.

Both stared at him, waiting for him to leave also, but House stared them down. He knew that although they were doctors who put pieces of puzzles together everyday it didn't mean that they would solve the one Allison Cameron and Gregory House so easily.

"We'll see you soon Lee, Christmas is coming up really soon."

"I know." Cameron wiped at her eyes. "But I'll miss you guys."

"It'll be Christmas before you know it and you'll be cursing all of us because you have to go shopping."

"Shut up Matt." She glowered at him, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

"It's not like it's not true."

"And it's not like you don't do the exact same thing too."

The five Cameron's exchanged jokes for a few more minutes before they all hugged Allie tightly.

The guys shook hands with Greg while Ellie and Shi both hugged him tightly.

"We'll be back soon Al, no tears, m'kay?" Ellie hugged Allie one more time, and she nodded, albeit sadly.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

The siblings disappeared one by one until the only one that remained was PJ.

"Call me no matter what kiddo. Day or night."

Allie nodded and sighed. "You'll look after Shi for me, right?"

"For everyone." PJ corrected. House wasn't surprised by his answer. The youngest Cameron – blood, step or nothing – was just as important to PJ as his four oldest step-kids. It didn't matter that she wasn't his. That he could walk away at any moment and ask 'why the hell am I looking after this kid?'

"And call me."

"You can bet on it." PJ leaned towards Allie and picked her up in a sweeping hug. There was a sleight of hand and House watched as something was slipped into Allie's purse.

PJ winked at him and then pulled away from Allison to look her in the eye.

"I'll call you when I get to California. I have a few things to do, and we're doing more talks on the movie that we're filming after New Years, but I hope to be in Chicago for a few more weeks with Shi."

He turned to Greg and held out his hand.

"I'm expecting to see you at Christmas too Greg."

It was an invitation, and House changed a glance at Cameron. She nodded, grinning at him.

"I'll be there."

"We'll be there." She corrected him. "With bells on."

"I don't like bells."

Cameron laughed and shook her head. PJ kissed her cheek.

"Call me when you get back to your apartment Lee."

"Will do. Love you PJ."

"Love you too baby girl."

* * *

A half hour later they arrived at PPTH and immediately set to work. The donor's kid had the flu with a mix of other things that children got in the winter time.

Cuddy didn't realize that they were back until the child's mother stopped in to thank her for the wonderful service that they had received from Dr. House and his team.

She had been in meetings with the board all day and had just assumed that House had gotten on a different flight. She was going to kill him for it later, but the board called.

Now it was five fifteen, almost quitting time and Cuddy was back in her office, about ready to head up to House's office.

"We completely over reacted but the whole team was very calm about it, very kind. They're lovely people Dr. Cuddy. Especially Dr. Cameron. Henry was so scared of the shots they had to give him, but she was very soothing and got him to calm down right away so Dr. Foreman could administer the shots."

As the woman handed Cuddy another check she reminded herself after killing House to thank Cameron.

"They're always glad to help Mrs. Kelley."

"I know dear. That's why we keep coming back here. All the doctors here want to help."

* * *

"I'm going to kill him." Cameron was muttering under her breath when Cuddy stepped into the office.

Foreman, Chase and House were watching her in amusement. They didn't see Cuddy and she stood next to the door, listening to the conversation.

If House wasn't pretending to run scared she wasn't exactly sure who the immunologist wanted to murder.

"You do realize that it's not that big of a deal, right?"

Lying on the glass table was what appeared to be a piece of paper – probably a check Cuddy deterred. She wondered why a check could make Cameron's blood boil.

She had seen Cameron upset with House, but never with the irritated, angry look that she had on her face now.

"But he didn't just do that, he did this too." Cameron pulled a small blue box out her bag. The ribbon was a silky white and the three men's eyes grew wide.

"Something from Tiffany's?"

"It's a tradition. Something that Ellie, Shi and I have been trying to break him of for years. He gets Matt and Nicky other things – tickets to games, really cool guy stuff that they would like – but us always Tiffany's. Always really expensive. And we always get really pissed off and try and tell him to save his money."

"The guys rich Cam, face it. You're always going to get presents." Foreman threw out.

"Well, do _you_want it?"

Chase snorted and Foreman glared at him. "No. At least open it though."

"I know what it is."

"How?" House propped his feet up on the table. "Don't tell me that he gets you the same thing every time. I actually almost like the guy, but that's just_ lame_."

Cameron went over to a pile of suitcases that was sitting in the corner. "You do realize that once you open that you'll never close it."

"And how would you know House?" Foreman asked a light in his eyes.

"Because I sat there and made fun of her while she threw everything into her suitcase and pouted like a four year old when she couldn't get it zipped."

"I didn't pack when I was four. Now _seven_, that's about when I started packing for myself. And everything won't explode, because what I'm looking for is right -" Cameron unzipped a front pocket and pulled out another blue Tiffany's box. She opened it and lifted out a silver charm bracelet. "Here."

House limped over and took the bracelet from her before she could protest.

"He gets some of them custom made for us."

House examined the charms before passing it back to her. "Explain." He fixed her with a stare which she met steadily.

"The first charm is a snowflake. It's for my January birthday and the fact that I love snow. A cupcake because until I was about nine he used to call me cupcake. Then one day I told him I was too old for that nickname. A Tiffany's charm because those come with whatever charm you buy. A glass slipper for my Prince Charming-" Allison paused and House caught the flash of hurt that dashed across her face. He remembered her at one point comparing her life at her fathers to that of Cinderella's. "And the last one is an envelope because mail is the best way to get news. We don't use e-mails for letters, we hand write them sometimes too."

"So what did he send you this time?"

Her thin hands pulled the bow off the box and opened it gently before finally pulling out a charm. It was quite intricate and House wondered how much it cost for PJ to have it made.

A small house with a chimney sat next to a key. The key had a loop hole with a bunch of spirals and a heart nestled in the center.

"I don't get it." Chase was eyeing the charm in confusion.

"It's for home." Cameron's voice was soft. "No matter where we are, home is where the heart is."

Cuddy strode in at that moment.

"Good to see that you're back."

"I told you we would be back Cuddles. Did you miss me?"

"Not in the slightest House."

"I missed you." He leered at her and the ducklings rolled their eyes.

Wilson stepped into the room and looked at the team.

"When did you get back?"

"A few hours ago." Chase replied.

Cameron had asked that they not spread her family history around the hospital, and everyone – even House had agreed.

The hint that he had dropped to Wilson about Kramer had never gotten a reaction, so that meant that he either forgot about it – which was probably what had happened, he hadn't been able to figure it out, or he was waiting to confront House face to face.

"C'mon." House stood cane in hand. "Jimmy is so happy to have me back that he's buying dinner and drinks for all of us."

"I am?" It was rhetorical, and you could tell by the grin on Wilson's face that he really didn't mind.

"Yes. Or maybe Cuddles should. As a reward. I didn't commit _any_ illegal acts while I was in Chicago."

The ducklings stood and Cuddy let out a gasp. The female duckling had her back turned to Cuddy, and then her arm was hidden by her body later on. Only now could she see the simple blue cast that ended just before her elbow.

"Cameron, what happened to your arm?"

"It's a long story, it was an accident, just a mild break. I'll be good as new soon."

Chase and Foreman both grinned, remembering the story she had told them. House didn't let a smile escape. They thought that the broken arm was from being a goof. He knew different. He saw the badge of courage and pain it was. Not that he would ever tell Foreman or Chase that. Some things were meant to be kept quiet.

The cast was completely decorated with signatures from her family, pictures of stick figures and a few games of tic-tac-toe that had been played when they got bored.

"You should sell that on E-Bay."

Cameron knew what Chase was referring to, but held up her cast and cocked her head. "It's a work of art, isn't it?"

"Dinner?" House called out impatiently. "Here I am, trying to be a great boss by spending Jimmy's money on you -"

The ducklings laughed and followed House out after gathering the multiple bags they had. Chase took Cameron's even as she protested about her one good arm. Wilson took House's, knowing that otherwise it would get thrown at him with a sarcastic comment about cripples.

Wilson watched as House walked a little slower then usual and Cameron caught up to walk beside him.

There was nothing obvious, like House wrapping his arm around her, or a protect hand on her back, but there was something there. A glimmer when Cameron met his eyes, and the smallest smirk tat danced across House's lips for a half a second when he saw her. So quick that Wilson was half sure he imagined it.

There was definitely something going on between the two of them. Now he just had to figure it out.

**THE END**


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